Friends and Foes
by laurarosenquist
Summary: Kidfic. Daniel has to adjust to his now child size and in the meantime he’s wreaking havoc on the nerves of a certain Air Force Colonel.
1. Chapter 1

This story is Laura's first fanfic and all credit goes to her. So please be nice to her and give her reviews. Thanks.

With the help of this story Laura and I got friends. I'll be Laura's co-author in this series from part 8.

Happy reading.

**Frie****nds and Foes Part 1**

Author: Laura  
Genre: Gen  
Warnings: mild language. A few cuss words here and there. And a little  
bit of Danny whumping, too.  
Disclaimer: Not mine, none of them just borrowing them for a little  
while ;)  
Spoilers: None  
Summery: Kidfic. Daniel has to adjust to his now child size and in the meantime he's wreaking havoc on the nerves of a certain Air Force Colonel.  
A/N: Thanks again Amberfly for the idea of the title! :D

Walking cautiously through the corridors of the SGC, Daniel carefully tiptoed to his office, making sure nobody was nearby to bust his cover. He pushed the door open and let himself in, closing it quietly behind him. Once inside he let out a whoop of excitement at having successfully accomplished his mission. He knew that if he was caught disobeying direct orders he would be in deep trouble, but there was so much that needed to be done, translations, reports, it was just never ending.

He skipped happily to the high chair before his desk and scowled before climbing up the kid step stool and onto the high chair. He so hated it! Why couldn't he just have a normal, ordinary, adult chair like everybody else had? Just because he was shorter now didn't mean they had to treat him like a little kid, right? However, he had to admit it was way better than having to strain to even see the keys on the board, and yes, the swivel chair he had before had proven to be a little unsteady for his precarious stability as of late. There was no way he was going to say that out loud though, much less to Jack. That would only feed his well-intentioned but misguided idea that he now knew what was best for him better than he did.

As he waited for the computer to power up, he went through the translations he'd been trying to complete before Jack had come for him to take a... humph... nap! Now that was way pushing it! Maybe well-intentioned, but still, that was going way, way too far.

For some reason Jack now felt it necessary to tell him when to go to bed, when and what to eat. He was thirty-four years old, not four for crying out loud!! He shook his head and shivered slightly. He was spending too much time around Jack it seemed. Couldn't be helped, though, until Sam could figure out how to reverse his current condition they wouldn't let him to live on his own. They as in: the General, the President, the powers that be. He could understand it would be a little odd to see a four year old living on his own and that it would only attract unnecessary attention to himself but couldn't help the feeling of resentment whenever he thought about it. He was grateful to Jack, of course, for his selfless act of friendship when he took him under his wing. He just missed his own place, having his own rules, his independence, and his privacy. Not that Jack didn't allow him his fare share of privacy at his place. He had his own room, with a lock and all. And Jack never invaded his personal space. But it just wasn't the same.

It was all just so unfair! He didn't want this. He didn't want to relive his childhood. Once was enough, thank you. He wanted his life back! It had been two months already and they were no closer to finding a solution. The Asgard, the Tollan, the Tok'Ra, none of them could help him and although Sam had promised she would never stop trying, deep down he knew they all had in fact, just given up on him, they just wouldn't tell him in so many words. It was the little things.

Then he brought his head up from the papers he was trying to read as the wheels in his head started turning at full speed. All the maybes, the what ifs, the fears he'd been trying so hard to ignore came flooding all at once like cascading water. What if they never find a solution? What if this is permanent? What if Jack doesn't want a kid in a permanent basis? What if they send me away to foster care again?

NO! He shook his head vigorously to rid himself of the troubling images that clouded his mind. That was NOT going to happen. For one, Jack would never abandon him; 'no one gets left behind' that's what he always said, right? So if this were to be permanent, Jack wouldn't just throw him out to social services. And secondly, there was really no need to ponder such things. It would never come to that. Sam would figure it out. It's what she did, solve problems, and this is what it was, just a problem that needed solving.

Resolutely nodding his head, determined not to let his mind wander into any more dark places he decided to get himself back to work which was why he was here disregarding Jacks orders in the first place.

No more than fifteen minutes afterwards, however, he found himself nodding off and yawning uncontrollably. Shaking off the cobwebs in his head, he determinedly tried once again to focus but to no avail, his eyelids seemed to have a mind of their own, and seemed just as determined to close. Angered at his new inability to stay awake for long periods of time he threw his glasses onto the table, dug the heels of his hands into his eyes and rubbed furiously until he could see bright spots dancing before his closed lids.

Sighing dramatically, he decided he needed to do something or he would end up falling asleep on his desk, and God forbid if someone, specially Jack, found him in such an undignified position. He would never hear the end of it. Maybe a coffee would do the trick. Where he would get one was a whole different story. He wasn't allowed to drink coffee anymore, he snorted indignantly. Maybe he could procure one in the mess hall without anybody noticing.

Grinning, he put his glasses back on, pushing them up his diminutive nose and jumped off the chair landing in a heap on the floor, he giggled foolishly and got himself back on his feet. 'Now that was fun' he thought. Still giggling silently he ran to the door. He peered outside through a very small crack. Opening it wider after a while, he sneaked his head out and looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear then made a mad dash for the elevator.

oOo

Steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of reports ready to be dispatched in the other, Jack sauntered down level 12 on his way to check up on mini Daniel who by the way, was way too stubborn to admit to needing a little shut eye. Jack had to practically drag him kicking and screaming all the way to the VIP room and hold him down under the covers until the struggling and crying ceased and only the occasional whimper remained. Then it was only a matter of time until exhaustion won out and the heavy eyelids finally stayed closed and blissful silence ensued.

He sighed; maybe he was getting old for all of this. He didn't remember it being so hard the first time around. Yeah, of course, Charlie didn't have the memories of a thirty something year old archaeologist/linguist inside his head, there was that.

He figured it wouldn't be so hard if Daniel weren't constantly fighting him over the simplest of things. He was obviously affected by this psychologically as well as physically, or else he would see reason and realize his four-year-old body couldn't withstand long hours of work on end with minimal food in the form of candy bars to keep him going. It was no good for him as an adult and he had to fight him over that little tiny detail often enough as it was. But now it seemed you couldn't even reason with him, he just throws a tantrum whenever he can't get his own way. He was so four sometimes it scared him.

Jack took a deep breath, turned the knob and peered inside. Through the dimness in the room he made out the tiny lump in the middle of the bed and smiled warmly to himself. He'd been more tired than he thought. He walked up to the bed and was about to caress the little blond mop of unruly hair, when instead his hand came up holding a...pillow. That old trick and he'd almost fallen for it. Daniel was so dead! He thrust the pillow onto the mattress and stomped out of the room.

oOo

As Daniel made his way carefully to the commissary he suddenly noticed a figure rounding the corner, striding hastily towards him so he ducked swiftly behind the closest corner and pressed his body as flat against the wall as was physically possible without becoming one with the concrete wall.

As he heard the footsteps getting closer and closer to his hiding spot he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead, dampening his hair and making their way down the side of his face. When just as suddenly, they became fainter and disappeared. He risked a peek around the wall, and saw only the empty SGC hall. Heaving a sigh of relief he left his hiding place and kept on walking.

"Gotcha!"ﾝ A very familiar voice startled him out of his skin while two strong hands grabbed him from behind. He let out a yelp as he felt his small body being raised and turned around to face a very pissy Colonel.

"Hi, Jack."ﾝ He smiled up at him, all wide-eyed innocence.

"Don't you 'hi Jack' me, Daniel! You're in so much trouble"ﾝ Jack said sternly "Care to tell me why there's a pillow tucked in your bed?'Cause last I checked cushions don't need naps."

"Well, neither do I!"ﾝ Daniel yelled back

"Watch the attitude, young man. You're in enough trouble as it is"

"Why?!'Cause I didn't want to take a stupid nap! I am NOT a little kid and I'll do as I damn well please,"ﾝ

"That a fact, huh? You know, it's a good thing you just said that, I've been having this little nagging feeling at the back of my mind and you just clarified things for me here. I've been having second thoughts on whether or not to take you with us to the little archeology paradise you were prattling on and on and drooling about in the briefing room this morning."ﾝ

Seeing the wary expression deepen in the little round face, he pressed on "And you know what, I think I've made up my mind already, I guess I can't take you off world at all, after all."ﾝ Jack replied succinctly and saw the defiant demeanor in the big blue eyes change to utter shock.

"What?"ﾝDaniel gasped.

"Simple, if you're gonna do as you damn well please, as you so nicely put it, then I can't take you with us to P3 something whatever 'cause no matter how harmless this little excursion of yours seems to be, there could be something or, someone on the other side waiting for us other than just squiggles and rocks. And I don't think I'm prepared to risk your life and the lives of the team just because you insist to disregard orders. You wanna be a brat, fine. But I just won't take any chances off world and I don't think General Hammond will either after he hears what I've just heard"ﾝ

Daniel paled dramatically at that and swallowed hard, speechless. Jack took the rare opportunity and tucked him under his arm and briskly made his way down the hall back to the VIP room.

"And just so you know, you're taking that nap anyway. Whether you like it or not, you're not thirty anymore and your body has different needs now. Although I kinda always thought food and rest were essentials for the human body no matter what age, don't ya think?" Silence.

"We'll have to ask Janet, then."ﾝ Jack droned on while purposefully rounding the corner and entering the elevator he reached out to punch a button.

oOo

Once outside, taking long strides to the VIP room with a now struggling whiny archaeologist under his right arm, Jack pushed the door with his left open and deposited him down on the mattress, heedless of his protests.

"Jack, you can't be serious!"ﾝ

"Oh... I'm serious, all right,"ﾝ he said as he untied Daniel's sneakers and took them off along with his socks, jeans, jacket and glasses.

"Get into bed,"ﾝ he instructed while holding up the blankets for him. But instead of complying, Daniel jumped from the bed and tried to make it to the door, but the special ops trained Colonel was ready for him and caught him before he even made it half way to the exit and this time he got him to lie down on the bed. As Jack carefully tucked him in, again, Daniel quietly sobbed and begged.

"Please, Jack. I'm not... tiered, I... don't need... a nap,"ﾝ he cried in between hiccups. What was wrong with him, he couldn't stop crying. He sounded like such a baby. He thought frustrated, which only made him cry harder.

"Shhh. Just close your eyes kiddo. You're exhausted; you've been at it for hours now. Trust me, you need some rest."ﾝ Jack soothed as he wiped the streaming tears from the wet flushed cheeks.

"I'm not... a... baby. I don't... need... a n-nap,"ﾝ he continued sobbing while unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn, the heavy drooping lids already at half mast couldn't be forced to stay open anymore so finally Danny was fast asleep.

oOo

Jack sat there, caressing gently the soft locks of hair, stroking Daniel's blond bangs away from his face soothingly, even though he was now dead to the world and would possibly stay that way for the next half hour. He fondly smiled down at the sleeping child, his best friend only a tiny helpless child now who needed him more than ever. He would see to it that Danny wasn't left alone ever again, he now had a family that'd cared for him and loved him, albeit a strange one, grant you that, but a family none the less and he would make sure that Danny understood that.

It had been months now, and he had to come to grips with the fact that Danny would most probably be stuck this way and would have to grow up the old fashioned way which meant his best friend would most certainly  
become his son now. He was on his way to talk to the General about it, when he'd decided to check on Daniel first. He glanced at the reports and the cold coffee sitting on the night stand next to him. He shrugged, that could wait until the little rapscallion woke up, he wasn't about to make the same mistake and leave him alone again. No siree!


	2. Chapter 2

Friends and Foes Part 2

A/N: See header from part one. And thank you all for the wonderful reviews!

Friends and Foes Part 2

He could feel the gentle breeze caressing his face and the warm sun above him; he stretched lazily and adjusted the pole next to him. With his arms resting behind his head and his legs slightly bent upwards he managed to find a more comfortable position and gazed up at the bright blue cloudless sky without a care for the world, with a sense of abandon that seemed to permeate his every thought and seeping through his very being. Jack was simply at peace and utter contentment. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift, the rhythmic lull of the boat and the gentle roll of waves crashing against the smooth wooden planks soothed him deeply, he heaved a monumental sigh and let his eyes drift close along with his thoughts.

Suddenly a pressure on his arm disturbed his peaceful doze, a tugging hand that was slowly pushing him downwards, he could feel himself slipping off the boat and just when he thought he would splash into the water cold bellow he was startled to feel hard, solid ground hit his face, and he groaned slightly as he carefully massaged his aching nose.

"I'm sorry Jack." was the worried child-like voice that greeted his awaking senses as tiny chubby hands tried to get him into an upright position. "I didn't mean to scare you it's just that I just woke up and saw you asleep on the chair and the piles of reports on the nightstand and thought that maybe you'd be late for a meeting or something and it'd be all my fault 'cause you stayed here to watch over me and..."ﾝ

"Aht Aht! Slow down Daniel and take a breath, for crying out loud! I can't understand a thing you're saying; I'm still half asleep, here." Said Jack in a slightly nasal voice while he continued to rub his bruised nose.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" Asked a remorseful Danny.

"Oh... Just peachy." Jack answered sarcastically but quickly regretted it when he saw Daniel hung his head guiltily. Man, wasn't there a thing the kid didn't feel guilty about?

"Hey Danny, it's Okay. I only bumped my nose but I'm fine. You just, startled me is all."ﾝ He reassured him stroking the back of his neck affectionately. Daniel stole a fleeting glance at him from beneath lowered lashes and mumbled almost inaudibly "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jack asked just as quietly. But Danny made no attempt to answer him nor to look at him, he just kept his eyes fixed on the cement floor, his chin planted firmly on his chest. Worried now, Jack reached out and lifted the tiny chin gently so he could look into the troubled baby face, but Danny would still not meet his eyes.

"Hey, Danny. What's wrong, buddy?"

"It's nothing." He whispered almost inaudibly so that Jack almost didn't catch what he was saying.

"Danny, Look at me. C'mon, look at me, sport." Big, round blue orbs looked hesitantly up at him in a way it nearly broke Jack's heart, he smiled down at the distraught boy, trying to easy whatever worries were plaguing that over-active mind of his. "Come 'ere." Jack encouraged as he took the small boy into his arms and sat him down on his lap. "So, you gonna tell me what's wrong or am I gonna have to squeeze it out of you bit by bit as usual, hmm?"ﾝ

Danny sighed and refocused his vision down onto Jack's lap starting to fiddle with Jacks shirt nervously. "It's just that. When I woke up, I saw you sleeping on the chair next to me holding my hand and I suddenly felt like such an idiot," he felt rather than saw Jack's boring glare digging holes on the top of his head and knew immediately that those hadn't been the best choice of words, he swallowed hard and amended swiftly "I mean... I felt... um... foolish. You missing a meeting and all because of me, all because you had to watch over me like some kid." He spat in disgust. "I'm sorry." He finished that last sentence in a soft murmur Jack had to bend over to hear.

"It's Ok, buddy. I didn't have any meetings and if I'd had one, I'd be glad I missed it. You're by far more important to me than any stupid meeting could ever be, you understand?"ﾝ Daniel just looked up at him with glazed over eyes and quickly ducked his head but not before Jack saw the glistening tears he knew he was trying hard not to let fall. So he hugged him close and gave him a little time to recoup. "Also, you and I both know meetings bore me to tears so I'd miss one in a heartbeat if given the chance and you would've been the perfect excuse too: 'Sorry General, I won't be able to make it I have Daniel here having the tantrum of his life and I have to take care of it before his head explodes and I have to call Janet to clean up the mess." Jack smiled proudly at himself when he heard the fit of giggles erupting from the previously solemn child on his lap. "What? What's so funny?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Jaaack." Danny laughed.

"Joking aside. It's true, Danny. Not about your head exploding, aside from the fact that sometimes it really looks like it's going to when you get in one of your moods, or when you're unlocking one of your meaning of life stuff riddles." He really loved the sound of Danny's laughter so he couldn't really be to blame if the kid burst his sides at his silliness, right? "But, all that aside. You will always be at the top of my priority list, Danny. You're more important to me than any meeting, than the Goa'uld, more than life itself, got it?"ﾝ

Now Danny was all sober again, looking solemnly up at Jack like one would a hero, for Jack O'Neill was Danny's hero. A flesh and blood true to God hero, the one and only true friend, along with Sam and Teal'c, of course. The one true friend he knew would never abandon him like so many others had. He now knew, Jack wouldn't leave him alone, he would be there for him, for now and for always.

Jack looked into those big blue eyes, eyes shining with blind trust -as ironic as it may sound- full of faith, faith in him. As if Jack held the key to unlock the universe, the answers to every problem, the eyes of a trusting child. It broke his heart to see what he thought he'd never see again, not after Charlie. And here it was a look of complete and utter trust. It frightened him, it frightened him senseless that the thought of letting down another innocent soul, that he would again make a terrible mistake an unforgivable mistake and screw up big time like before. He didn't want to hurt anymore innocent children, and this child here wasn't any child, this was Daniel, his best buddy soon to be son. He shivered at the horrible images his mind conjured up and quickly shook those fears aside. Danny needed him right now, that's all that mattered. He would see to it that he didn't make the same mistakes again. He would see to it that Danny had a father, for as long as he needed him. He hugged him close and planted a kiss on the unruly mop of blond locks. "I love you Danny. Never doubt that. Got it?" And he felt tiny arms come up around his neck and hold on for dear life. Jack just held on tighter and pressed a second kiss on Danny's head, then burying the boy's head back in the crook of his neck he repeated his question in a quite murmur while rocking him gently back and forth in his arms. "Got it, Danny?"

Danny nodded silently, not trusting his voice past the thick lump in his throat; at last managing a strangled almost inaudible "I love you back." Close to fifteen minutes later, Jack could feel his legs starting to cramp and decided it was time to get up, as much as it pained him to disturb the kid when he was so obviously very cozy cuddled in his arms, but if he didn't move soon his legs would need serious rehabilitation sessions from one of Fraiser's specialists if he planned to walk on those legs ever again, and knowing Danny, he would need both legs intact to keep up with the little imp. He'd been keeping him on his toes for the last few months already. So he gave the little guy a gentle nudge and spoke as softly as he could so as not to startle him. "Hey, Danny boy. I can't feel my legs already, so  
what'd you say we get up so I can stretch my legs while I still have  
them?"

"Oops... sorry." Said Danny as he disentangled himself from his lap and up awkwardly.

"Ah... don't sweat it, buddy." He replied struggling to his feet on creaking knees. "So, how about we get you dressed and get back down to business. I do actually work here, you know." He picked a snickering Daniel under his armpits and dropped him unceremoniously on the bed with enough force for Daniel to bounce several times on the soft mattress, unable to stop himself, Danny let out a squeal of delight as he repeatedly bounced on the bed until he laid sprawled on his side laughing hard.

Jack tried in vain to keep a straight face as he picked up the discarded clothes sitting at the foot of the bed where he'd left them close to an hour ago, and started helping him into his Jeans.

"Jaaaack! I can do that. I'm not a baby, you know." He complained as he batted Jack's hands away. The Colonel threw his hands up in the air in a placating gesture. "All right. All right. I just meant to lend a helping hand, here. No need to bite my head off for the effort. Sheesh... talk about ungrateful. You love them, you feed them, clothe them, kiss bruised knees and tell well-worn fairy tales again and again and what do you get in return?" Jack muttered under his breath in mock annoyance.

Daniel, for his part, was too busy fumbling with his shoe laces and trying to reign in his growing frustration to notice. Finally he conceded defeat and punched the bed hard with both little fists "Jaaack! I—" He chocked out.

Jack was instantly hunched in front of him, heedless of his protesting knees and deftly tied them up for him. Danny just sat there, breathing heavily through his mouth; face flushed and lower lip trembling slightly. His anger and frustration were palpable, frustration at his small uncooperative fingers, anger at this newfound inability to a accomplish this simple task. Jack worried he was starting to hyperventilate. "Hey, hey... it's Ok buddy. It's no big deal."

"YES IT IS!! I CAN'T TIE MY GODDAMN SHOES JACK!!" His crying started in full force now. He brought his arms up around himself in his patented self hug, so reminiscent of his old self Jack shivered involuntarily. His whole body was now shaking with the force of his pain. Jack did the only thing he could, he held him in his strong arms, rubbing soothing circles on his back and whispering nonsensical words of comfort in his ears until, eventually, the heart-wrenching sobs subsided and Daniel pulled aside ashamed at his loss of control.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"For what?"

"For this, for... losing it, over some stupid tennis shoes." He scoffed in disgust. Jack wouldn't have it, he took him firmly by the shoulders and made him look at him straight in the eye before rebuking "Hey, listen to me! What happened was totally understandable, if our situations were reversed, I'm pretty sure I'd be bouncing off the walls by now just about ready to hit someone. You don't have to be in control all the time, kiddo. You're allowed to lose it from time to time, like it or not, you're human."

"Look who's talking." Daniel snorted. "You should take your own advice, you know."

Jack couldn't help smile slightly at that, "Well, I am not saying you should do everything I do."ﾝ

"But I should do everything you say, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jack nodded seriously. That got a small smile and a short laugh out of the mini archaeologist. Jack playfully cuffed him on the back of the head and got up from the bed. "Well, that's it Danny, enough slacking off. Time to get this show back on the road before Hammond comes kick our lazy asses back to work."

"Hey! How come you can cuss and I can't?" Daniel whined as he hopped out of the bed putting his jacket back on with the slightest bit of difficulty.

"Because I'm old and wise:" Jack replied haughtily.

"Yeah, right."

"Got it in one, sport." Danny rolled his eyes. Jack grinned at the all too familiar gesture reaching out to ruffle his hair, something he knew he hated, and turned around to pick up the stack of reports still sitting undisturbed on the nightstand by the bed. He opened the door and reached out his free hand to Danny who, amazingly, took it. Together, hand in hand, they made their way down the hall to the elevator.

"Just out of curiosity." Jack asked, cocking his head to one side and frowning down at Danny. "How did you get them on the first time?"

"What?" Daniel looked quizzically up at Jack.

"You know... your shoes. I'm positive I took them off when I first left you in the room and when I took them off the second time, I had to untie them, again. So, how did ya do it?"

Realization downed, and Daniel got that pensive deep frown on his face.

"Oh... never mind, it was just a question." Jack dismissed.

"I can't remember." Danny whispered confused.

"It's Ok. Forget about it. It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does!" Responded Daniel indignantly.

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes. It. Does."

"Doesn't."

"Does."

"Doesn't."

"Does!"

"Not!"

"Jaaaack!"

"What?" The elevator doors closed and the two airmen witnessing the exchange shook their heads in amusement at the pair.

"The rules Daniel..." Jack was demanding as they rounded the corner on  
their way to Daniel's office.

"Oh... please Jack, give me a break. Don't you think I know them by heart by now? You made me repeat them like a dozen times already!" Daniel complained loudly. This was just soooo embarrassing! Jack making up all those stupid kid rules that, as far as he was concerned, were completely unnecessary. He wasn't a kid after all! And to top it all off, Jack now felt it necessary to make him recite each and every last one of them while walking down the halls of the SGC for all to hear. Surely everyone was having a great time at his expense. That was just going tooo far, even for Jack.

"Just humor me, Daniel. I just want to make sure you don't forget them before I leave you to your own devices." He shot back in his most calm and condescending voice and yeah... he knew, it was a tone that irritated the crap out of Daniel, but the little shit had been asking for it all day long and his patience was running thin. Dangerously thin.

"FORGET THEM!! Wish I could!!" Danny screamed in a high-pitched voice that almost sent Jack's already throbbing headache to astronomical proportions, heedless of his discomfort, Daniel just kept on screeching, gesticulating madly to get his point across "But with you drilling them into my head every five seconds I fail to see how..."

"DANIEL!" Jack boomed and there was instant silence, blissful silence. Jack gave him the 'look' and Daniel immediately started fidgeting, not so sure about himself anymore, he tried to look anywhere but at Jack, but finally his defiant demeanor sagged, he dropped his gaze to the floor and started to recite resignedly.

"I am not to try to reach the higher shelves on my own, if I really have to I must ask for help. I am not to handle far too heavy books on my own, if I have to then I ask somebody's help. If I have to leave my office for whatever reason, I must first call you and let you know, otherwise I must wait for you, Sam or Teal'c to come pick me up. Happy?!"

"Extremely. Thank you." Jack enunciated each word with care and grinned for good measure. Daniel narrowed his eyes and stared up at Jack in rage. "You may go, now." Jack dismissed him, at last.

Daniel glared daggers up at Jack before stomping angrily into his office and muttering what was obviously very colorful and very inappropriate vocabulary under his breath. Jack shook his head and decided not to comment on that, yet.

"Oh... and Daniel."

"What?!" Daniel shouted and turned around abruptly.

Trying to keep his own temper in check, Jack inwardly counted to ten thousand and reminded him as calmly as he could "Remember what we just discussed, Daniel. You want me to forget to mention your earlier sleep-deprived confessions to the General, you better start doing as you're told or else you can say goodbye to your little happy place. This is your last warning, Daniel. You disobey me one more time and you're grounded until further notice. Do I make myself clear, Daniel?"

All the bravado having abandoned him, Danny stared wide eyed up at Jack slowly nodding his head up and down in understanding. "You have a voice, Daniel!" The Colonel thundered

Danny jumped startled and swallowed hard, trying to speak through the lump in his throat, he answered meekly, suddenly feeling very small and very much four years old. "Y-yes, Jack."


	3. Chapter 3

Friends and Foes Part 3

By Laura

See header from part 1

Daniel had worked steadily for almost two hours when he suddenly found himself at a dead end. There was no way he could go on without some reference books, which all happened to be far out of his reach. "Damn!" he cursed loudly then quickly held a hand up to his mouth, the irrational fear that Jack would come through the door at any moment to nag him over his manners still uppermost in his mind. Suddenly he realized how foolish he was being. He wasn't a child, for Christ's sake! He could swear if he damn well wanted to! "Damn, damn, damn, and double damn!" There! He fleetingly stole a glance at the door to make sure that indeed, no one was coming. He heaved a huge sigh of relief when he heard nothing and slumped down on his seat.

Frustrated at his own inability to swear more creatively without fear of punishment, he tossed his pen hard onto his desk, sending it bouncing off and flying down onto the floor. He rested his smooth chin on his ridiculously diminutive hands and absentmindedly rubbed at his baby-soft skin. He frowned deeply. It would be a long time before he started shaving again, and for some reason that just seemed to unnerve him even more.

He really should go get some help for those reference books he needed or else he would fall way behind schedule. He didn't want to give the General the impression he no longer was capable of fulfilling his duties. But he so didn't want to ask for help for something as trivial as getting his own books down from a stupid shelf. It was humiliating.

He sighed and resignedly picked up the phone and dialed Sam's lab number. After a few rings, a thought occurred to him. Why should he ask for help? Last time he checked, he wasn't an invalid, just shorter. He could get his own stuff and besides, it wasn't like Sam and Teal'c had nothing else to do but to play gofer for the helpless little kid. Infuriated, he hung up the receiver with a loud clank. How hard could it be? Even when he was an adult he'd sometimes had to use the ladder to reach the highest shelves, so it wasn't like he wasn't acquainted with the procedure already. He'd just need the ladder more often now, that was all.

He looked cautiously around the room and finally his gaze came to rest on the open doorway. Danny grinned mischievously and fleetly jumped off the chair, landing on the floor in a heap then quickly scrambled to his feet. He made it to the door clumsily and closed it quietly so as not to attract any unwanted attention. He thought about it for a few seconds, then making up his mind, nodded to himself and promptly locked it, just in case Jack suddenly decided to pay him a little visit. He'd rather take a lecture on why he shouldn't lock himself in his office than have him find out he'd actually broken rule number 1. He shivered. Nope, he certainly didn't want Jack finding out about that. Nor Sam or Teal'c for that matter, they would only tattle on him. So it was better to take some small precautions.

That taken care of, Danny went for his ladder and positioned it in front of the stacks. He carefully stepped up and went over the many thick books arranged neatly by subject on the shelves. Finally he found the one he was looking for and it happened to be the thickest book situated on the highest shelf.

He swallowed. "O-okay. I can do this; I just need to stretch a little..." He stood on his tip-toes and stretched out his hand as far as he could, holding onto the bookcase for support, but only managed to graze the lowest side of the huge heavy cover.

Panting at the effort, he slumped forward. "Okay. It's just going to be harder than I thought, that's all." He looked around the room for something he could use to reach out for it but couldn't see anything other than papers, notebooks, artifacts and more books.

Frowning in concentration, he looked down at the shelf directly in front of him, carefully stepped onto the wooden board and decided it was solid enough to hold his weight. He climbed onto it with the slightest bit of trepidation. Never having been very fond of heights he tried to keep his eyes fixed on the top shelf and not on the floor below. This time when he reached out his hand again, to his relief, he was able to grasp the book, his hand barely big enough to close around it.

He pulled it out slowly and almost lost his footing at the unexpected weight that hit his chest. He was sweating profusely now. He didn't remember the book being so heavy. He turned his head around awkwardly as far as he could, searching for the top of the ladder, but he couldn't see much with the heavy volume on top of him and his other hand holding onto the bookcase. It was definitely a very precarious position.

Stepping down ever so slowly, he searched blindly for the ladder with his right foot. He sighed when he felt the solid rung hit his sneaker-clad toes, and calmer now, he let his weight fall onto his right leg. To his horror, the world around him started to slip sideways as the solid ground beneath him proved to be not so solid after all and the ladder tumbled onto the floor with a loud crashing sound that reverberated throughout the room and then he was falling as well. He hit the floor with a sickening thud, and a sharp wave of pain slammed through his head then bright colors clouded his vision before he was engulfed in total darkness.

Jack made his way stiffly to the General's office, still a little ticked off by his latest altercation with Daniel. The kid seemed to be always questioning his authority lately. Well, so what else was new? But this was a little excessive, even for Daniel. Jack couldn't even open his mouth around the kid without Daniel being ready to fight him over whatever it was that he was about to say. Even if he agreed with him he was sounded like he was disagreeing. It was starting to grate on his nerves. Don't get me wrong, he thought, I love the kid, but Daniel was also annoying the crap out of him. He was like a strange mixture of teenager and spoiled four-year-old.

He could understand Danny's frustration and sympathized with him but he wouldn't tolerate this behavior. He had to drill it into Danny's head that willful disobedience and outright disrespect wouldn't lead him anywhere but into trouble. It was his duty as Daniel's CO, best friend, and as his guardian to see to it that Daniel understood that. Jack took his responsibilities seriously. But it sure was wearing him down. When they got home he would send Danny to bed early and delight in a nice cold beer, sprawled on the couch with nothing but the company of the sports channel to soothe his frazzled nerves. He smiled at the prospect. That was so what he needed.

Standing outside the General's office, Jack debated whether this was such a good idea after all. When Daniel was downsized, it was obvious to all of them that he could no longer live on his own, to all except Daniel that is. It just took him a little longer to see reason. Not only would it have attracted the neighbors' attention but it would've also been dangerous. Daniel was, for all intents and purposes, a four-year-old, with the limitations of a four-year-old. It had also been later proved that Daniel's mind had also been affected by his downsizing. He was, physically and emotionally, a little kid, albeit a very smart one. So it was out of the question, the kid couldn't and wouldn't be able to live on his own.

They'd considered the possibility of fostering him with one of the many families among the SGC personnel, who would have both the experience and the necessary clearance to take the shrunken archaeologist in. The team wouldn't have any of it though, Daniel was part of SG-1, and he should stay with one of them. No one got left behind, that was their first unbreakable law. And Daniel was adamant in his choice; he wanted to stay with Jack. That proclamation had moved the Colonel in more ways than he thought possible. He was  
touched by Daniel's trust, and the depth of affection this little version of his friend evoked in him shook him to the core.

Even though Daniel had chosen him to be his legal guardian, understanding the need for one, and accepting his new limitations were two very different things and Daniel was far from that acceptance. Hence, his rebellion. So he was pretty sure how Danny would react to the concept of adoption. It would certainly give the kid the security and stability he needed, as well as the certainty that he wasn't going to be dumped into social services when he least expected it. Which was NEVER going to happen, by the way. They would have to go over his dead body to do it, and most probably over Teal'c's and Carter's, too. But he knew Danny well enough to know the idea had crossed his mind at least once, which was one time too many as far as Jack was concerned. It would certainly make things more permanent for him, and confirm his suspicions that there was nothing any of them could do to reverse this and that he would remain a child for at least the foreseeable future.

Jack took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," came the General's voice from the behind the closed door.

Jack opened the door a crack and peeked inside.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have a minute?"

"Ah... Colonel. Come on in, please."

Jack entered the room, closed the door behind him, and made his way to the desk.

"Have a seat, please."

"Thank you, sir." Jack slowly sat down on the chair opposite General Hammond, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Is everything all right, Colonel?"

"Yes, sir. It's just that I... uh... I wanted to talk to you about Daniel, sir." Now it was the General's turn to look concerned.

"About Dr Jackson? Is there something wrong with him?"

"No, sir. Daniel's fine. I just meant I wanted to talk to you about

"Look, Jack. If you want to reconsider your decision to take the boy in I…"

"No, no, no, sir!" interrupted a now slightly alarmed Jack, "By no means, sir. No, what I meant is..." He took a deep breath and decided to just blurt it out. "I'd like to make this official. That is, I want to give the kid a little bit more security about his future. It's been months now and they're no closer to changing him back, so I thought..."

"You want to adopt him," the General stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes! Thank you." Jack stretched his arms out in front of him and threw his head back, letting out a gust of air through his mouth, finally able to breathe properly.

The General smiled knowingly at him and turned around to produce a heap of papers from behind his desk.

Confused, Jack stared at them and then at the General. "What's this, sir?"

"These, Jack, are the adoption papers ready for you to sign."

"What?"

Hammond smiled warmly in understanding and elaborated.

"We're not giving up on Dr Jackson, Colonel. Don't get me wrong, but as you pointed out, it's been months now and it's very likely there's nothing we can do to fix this. If this is going to be permanent, then the boy will need a father. You were the most logical choice. You two were close friends even before this happened. I knew sooner or later you would come to me to discuss this matter. I just took the liberty of having everything ready to speed things up a little when you finally made the decision."

Jack was speechless. Was he so transparent that the General knew how he felt about Daniel all along? Thank you seemed so inadequate.

"I-- I'll have to talk to Daniel first, sir." he whispered through the lump in his throat, not taking his eyes off the papers sitting right in front him. The papers that would turn Daniel, his best buddy, into his son.

"You do that, Jack. The papers will be waiting right here till you're ready."

Jack stood up dazedly and looked at the General straight in the eye. "Thank you, sir," he whispered humbly.

"It was my pleasure, son." Hammond stood up and saw him to the door.

Once outside the office with the closed door behind him, Jack just stood there, too stunned to move. Shaking his head, he walked away, deciding to check on the little trouble magnet before meeting Teal'c at the gym.

He was nearing Daniel's office when he heard a commotion coming from behind the closed door, things crashing and what sounded suspiciously like someone hitting the hard concrete floor. He stood shocked, in the middle of the hallway,

"Oh, for crying out loud! What now?" he complained under his breath as he ran for the door knob, startled to find it securely locked. "The little... DANIEL!" He banged on the door several times, but there was no response. Dread slowly seeping into his senses. "Daniel?" Fear spurred him into action and he reached for the doorknob, startled to find it securely locked. "The little... DANIEL!" He hammered on the door several times, but there was no response.

"Daniel, what's going on in there?! Open the door!" He hit the door with both fists with a mix of anger and frustration.

Only silence greeted him. Okay now he was getting seriously worried.

"DANIEL JACKSON! Answer me, NOW!" There was a low moan from the other side of the door, and Jack felt color leech from his skin as his anger turned into gnawing worry. He recovered quickly and threw himself at the door savagely. Once, twice, three times, but it just wouldn't budge. Trying to reign in his worry and growing fear, he decided he needed some back up.

He turned around just about ready to hit something or somebody. Then he saw, to his relief, Sergeant Siler making his way down the hall.

Daniel woke up with a pounding headache and a queasy stomach. He opened his eyes a fraction and quickly regretted it. The intense pain that followed that simple act was almost unbearable. Confused, searched his memory for what could've put him in this situation. He remembered he had been in his office but... Oh, now he remembered. Suddenly consciousness didn't seem like such a good idea. The pain in his head would be nothing compared to the pain in his butt when Jack found out about this, and he would find out, there was no escaping that now.

Daniel heard Jack's voice through the ringing in his head. Then the banging on the door started and it was all he could do not to scream at the white-hot, piercing pain that shot through his skull. He wanted to tell Jack to stop but he just couldn't summon up the strength to form the words. He needed to open up the door and let Jack in before his head exploded into a million tiny bits.

He barely managed to roll onto his side before he heaved his lunch across the floor. No, wait. That wasn't the floor that was... his BOOK! He moaned and flopped over onto his back, regretting the sudden, jarring movement the moment his brain threatened to seep out through his ears. The pounding and screaming at the door wasn't helping matters, either. If Jack would just stop that and shut up, maybe he could go back to blissful unconsciousness. He was starting to miss the quiet already.

Daniel brought his hands up to his ears and pressed down hard trying to block out the infernal noise, but when he felt the warm, sticky substance trickling down the side of his face he was suddenly scared stiff. He brought his left hand up in front of his eyes and was horrified to see the bright red blood staining his shaking fingers. He started breathing fast and felt his fear escalate until all he could feel was his panic. Without even realizing it, he was suddenly screaming for Jack.

He didn't even hear the door bursting open and Jack and Sergeant Siler barging in. He just kept on crying for Jack, tears streaming unchecked down his round, plump cheeks.


	4. Chapter 4

Friends and Foes Part 4

By Laura

See header from part 1

A/N: Thank you all for giving some great reviews.

When Jack was finally able to enter the room, he was shocked at what he saw. Danny, sitting on the floor sobbing, calling for him, with blood trickling down the side of his face and dripping onto the floor. It was a gory sight, one from his nightmares.

"Oh... my God, Danny." Jack rushed to his side and knelt down next to him, taking the fumbling bloodstained hands into his own larger ones as he inspected the wound closely. Siler was already on the phone calling for Dr. Fraiser. He was thankful for the Sergeant's quick thinking.

Jack pressed his hand firmly to the wound. Daniel let out a small yelp and tried to turn away but he held fast. "Hold still, Danny. That's still bleeding…" a lot, he added to himself as he looked in horror at the blood still oozing from the wound, seeping through his fingers, and streaming down Danny's face.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a wadded cloth being handed to him. He nodded his thanks to Siler and pressed it to Danny's head.

Danny whimpered softly and held on tighter to Jack's shirt. Jack pressed him closer to his chest trying to ease the tremors coursing through his body, while making soft shushing sounds in an effort to soothe the still weeping and obviously frightened child.

"I-- I'm s-sorry J-Jack. I— " Daniel hiccupped.

"Shhh... It's okay, Danny. Don't worry about it." Jack rocked him back and forth slightly while keeping a firm hold on the now bloodied cloth. He chanced a look beneath it at the open wound. Thank God, the bleeding was slowing. He placed the cloth back into position as Dr. Fraiser ran into the room, a gurney and two nurses in tow.

He felt an immense relief wash over him as Janet took over, inspecting the wound, and barking out orders. No sooner had one of the nurses reached down to put Danny on the stretcher than the little guy latched onto Jack like a koala. Jack nodded at her and secured his arms protectively around him.

"It's all right, I'll carry him," Jack said.

The nurse looked unconvincedly at Janet who nodded her acceptance and the gurney was wheeled away. Jack carefully got to his feet, mindful not to jostle his precious burden and followed Janet out of the room.

Once in the infirmary, Janet checked Danny's vitals, stitched the wound closed, and gently covered the sutures on Daniel's left temple with some gauze. Daniel was very clingy during the whole procedure, only letting go of Jack's hand after much prompting from Jack and Janet so they could take an X-ray of his head. When the X-ray was completed he was wheeled back to an infirmary bed, and Jack brought a chair right up next to it.

Noticing Danny fiddling with a loose thread on the bedsheet and staring intently at his hands, Jack reached out one of his much bigger ones to still the incessant fidgeting.

Danny gave him a sidelong glance.

"Hey, sport. How are you feeling?" Jack asked in a gentle voice that held neither anger nor reprimand, only concern.

Daniel guiltily shifted his gaze back to the white sheets he still held in his hands. He looked as if he knew he was the one who'd put that worry on Jack's face. His eyes were bright with unshed tears, and he swallowed convulsively as if to keep rising bile at bay.

Jack saw his discomfort, the unshed tears shining beneath his lowered lashes. Worried that he might be in pain, he took Danny's small chin in his strong fingers and gently forced the round face up to meet his gaze. "Hey, sport. What's wrong? Are you hurting? Do you want me to call Janet?"

Danny sniffed.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Daniel choked out "I disobeyed you and—"

"Hey... I told you. Don't worry about it. Your main concern right now is getting better, you hear? We will talk about this, trust me. But not right now, okay?"

"Okay," Danny agreed in an almost inaudible whisper.

Any further discussion was interrupted as Dr. Fraiser arrived with the X-ray films in one hand and a lollipop in the other. She neared the bed and bent down to Danny. "You were very brave today, Daniel," she announced as she offered the candy to him.

"I'm not a kid," he grumbled, taking the candy anyway. Ripping the wrapping off, he popped the lollipop into his mouth sucking on it noisily, a large scowl still gracing his features.

"What do you say?" Jack prompted Danny gently.

"Fank you," Danny replied around the candy sticking out of his mouth.

Janet smiled fondly down at him. "You're welcome, sweetie."

Danny's frown deepened slightly at the pet name, but he didn't comment.

"So, how's the head?" Jack queried the doctor.

"Extremely hard, I must say," Janet assured him, sparing a small smile for Daniel.

"Amen to that." Relief washed over Jack at Janet's words. "I never thought I'd say this, but, thank God for your hard head, Danny." Jack turned to Danny and ruffled his hair, which got an annoyed grunt in response from the injured archeologist.

Janet smiled at the pair and continued her medical report. "There's no internal injury and his skull is fine, not even a hairline crack so he should make a full recovery."

"Should?" Jack asked warily.

"Well, he's lost quite a lot of blood and the wound did need five stitches to close properly; he was unconscious for at least a few minutes, was clearly very sick and—"

There was a groan from the bed. Jack and Janet turned concerned eyes on Danny.

He looked up at them and seeing the anxiety written all over their faces, he elaborated, "I ruined my book," he grumbled sullenly, then rested his elbows on his knees, legs crossed over one another, and head resting on his open palms while still sucking on the lollipop. He was the picture of dejection.

Jack tried unsuccessfully to keep a straight face. It was so like Daniel to smash his head open and then be more worried about some old book he'd spewed on instead of the head he'd just cracked open.

Jack turned back to Fraiser as she went on with her speech. "Head injuries are not to be taken lightly, not even a mild concussion." Now she turned to speak directly to Daniel, "so I would like to keep you here for observation, Daniel." Daniel opened his mouth to object but a raised hand and a hard glare from the diminutive doctor quickly silenced any upcoming protests. "For at least the next 24 hours."

"What? No!" he wailed in a shrill voice that made Daniel himself wince.

"Just to be on the safe side, Daniel. I don't want any more surprises," Janet tried to explain calmly.

"But—"

"Enough, Daniel," Jack stepped in sternly.

Daniel looked from one to the other imploringly, but seeing their resolute faces it was obvious Daniel knew he was fighting a losing battle.

"Fine!" he spat angrily and flopped down on the bed, heedless of the pain the movement must have caused him. He rolled onto his side and away from them.

Jack took a deep, calming breath, restraining himself from inflicting severe bodily harm on the kid. After all, they were already in the infirmary. Thankfully, Janet pushed him away from his dark thoughts.

"I don't foresee any complications. Like I said, it's just a precaution. So I'm pretty sure he'll be able to go home right after lunch tomorrow. But I don't want him working for at least a few more days. Rest is the best recovery technique, and some Baby Tylenol should help with the headaches."

Jack nodded his understanding. "Thank you, Janet."

When Janet left, Jack turned back towards his wayward archeologist, who was still lying on his side, uncharacteristically quiet and still. Jack shook his head. "You can quit sulking, Daniel. You're staying here. Period." When he rounded the bed, he noticed Daniel was already fast asleep, the half-eaten Tootsie Roll slowly slipping out of his mouth. Jack smiled in spite of himself, then gently took the candy out of Daniel's mouth and placed it on a nearby table.

"Sir?"

He turned around to find Carter and Teal'c standing a few steps behind him, having obviously heard about the little incident. Seems bad news spread fast around here, thought Jack. He made a shushing motion with his fingers, cocking his head in Daniel's direction to show them the kid was already asleep, then motioned them forward.

"What is the condition of DanielJackson, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked in a hushed voice, so as not to disturb the sleeping child.

"Not as bad as it could've been. Thank God for that. The little scoundrel could've broken his neck!" Jack answered in an equally hushed voice. He raked an aggravated hand through his hair, noting vaguely that he seemed to need a haircut. He shook his head as if to clear it. "I tell you that kid is going to have his meals standing up for the next two weeks once I'm done with him!" He punctuated each word with his index finger pointed forward, the anxiety and worry from the last few hours transmuting into rage and exasperation at Daniel's reckless behavior, as the knowledge that he would indeed be okay finally sunk into Jack's fuzzy brain.

"Why would you seek to inflict harm on DanielJackson after he has had an accident, O'Neill?" asked an obviously confused Jaffa, an almost imperceptible frown creasing his usually impassive expression, as he stood straight and tall before the Colonel in a most threatening way.

"My thoughts exactly. Sir," Carter agreed glaring murderously at Jack.

Jack looked from one to the other in amazement. Most of the times, Jack admired how they protected and looked out for the boy. Most of the times, but this was not one of those times. Daniel had royally screwed up this time, that was all there was to it, and he had to face the consequences of his actions. He would face the consequences. Jack would make sure Daniel didn't pull a stunt like this again any time soon.

"That was NO accident, kids. That boy deliberately did something unbelievably stupid I specifically forbade him to do, so that THIS wouldn't happen!" Jack said forcefully in a still hushed voice.

Carter blinked several times as if to bring her jumbled thoughts into focus, both of them were obviously confused by this new revelation. "I don't understand, sir. What happened? We thought he'd had an accident in his office."

"And how do you think this ''accident'' happened, Carter?" At their blank stares he added, "If I've told him once I've told him a dozen times, that if he needed something from his bookcase that was out of his reach he was to ask for help, especially if it was a ridiculously thick volume heavier than the stargate."

"Oh," answered Carter in a meek voice.

A raised eyebrow was Teal'c's only response.

"Yes. Oh."

oOo

The night passed uneventfully, with Daniel sleeping undisturbed and Jack dozing off on the uncomfortable infirmary chair, keeping vigil next to Daniel. When morning came, Daniel woke up with a much clearer head, the mind-splitting headache only slightly noticeable now. Feeling decidedly more human today, Daniel yawned and stretched then he tried opening one eye a slit, not wanting to risk the headache returning, and found to his relief that the bright infirmary lights overhead no longer hurt his eyes.

He heard a very distinctive snoring, and turned around to find Jack slumped on the chair at his bedside. He took a look around; they were apparently alone for the moment. He gingerly sat up and slid out of the bed and tip toed away. But he only managed two short steps before he felt himself being raised in the air by the armpits. He let out a heavy rush of air through his nostrils in frustration. This was sure getting old. He just wished Jack would stop doing that! Besides, wasn't he dead to the world a few minutes ago? "Jaaaaack!! I have to gooo!!" Daniel whined, exasperated.

"You don't have to go anywhere but back to bed, young man!" Jack reprimanded, depositing him back on the bed and making him lie back down on the mattress with a strong hand firmly pressed on his chest.

Daniel shot daggers up at him, enunciating meaningfully as if talking to a small child with learning difficulties. "No, Jack! I really have to go. BAD!"

Understanding finally registered on Jack's face.

"Oh. Okay." Jack set him back down on his feet and watched him stomp his way to the restroom. "Oh... And Danny! If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seetie. Okay?"

Daniel made a face "Eeew!"

"What? My momma used to tell me that!" Jack said in mock indignation. "She'd say," Jack cleared his throat and continued in a high-pitched voice, "Jack, if you sprinkle when you tinkle make sure..."

" Shut up, Jack!" Danny hollered, his face scrunched up in disgust.

Jack couldn't help snickering at Danny's shock-stricken face.

Danny realized he was being teased and turned smartly on his heels, striding purposefully from the room. He shot the occasional glare back at Jack, who was laughing heartily by now, until he disappeared behind the closed bathroom door.

After Jack managed to control himself, he started to have second thoughts about Danny going to the bathroom alone. He didn't like the idea of him being left to his own devices for even that short period of time, and the closed door was grating on his nerves even now. But he didn't think Danny would agree to keep the door open so he could make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Jack snorted and sat down on the chair, waiting for the little squirt to come out. What could possibly happen to him in a restroom?

Ten minutes later, Jack was getting a little impatient. How much time could it take the kid to pee, for crying out loud? Okay, five minutes, he'd give the kid five more minutes. If he wasn't out by then, he'd barge in and see what the hell was keeping him.

oOo

Daniel stretched both hands out trying to take hold of the tap knobs, but he was too short now. Too short to do the simplest things. He gritted his teeth and looked around, there had to be something he could step on. To his delight, he found a basin propped up in a corner. He ran for it and placed it upside down in front of the sink but still couldn't reach the knobs, only grazing the sleek cold surface with his fingertips. He pushed himself up, using the border of the sink as a lever and was just about to make it when the door burst open and he jumped, startled, falling backwards as the basin beneath his feet slipped on the smooth tile floor. He would've smashed his head once again if it weren't for the strong calloused hands that grabbed him just in time.

Daniel's gaze followed the big hands up to robust biceps on a set of broad shoulders then up to Jack's angry face staring down at him. "Hi, Jack." He smiled his most innocent little boy smile, but it didn't seem to be having the desired effect as it only served to deepen Jack's frown, if that was even possible.

Danny swallowed hard, swiftly averting his gaze to the floor. Jack set him down on his feet unceremoniously. Daniel steeled himself for the lecture he knew was coming in full force. He waited, and waited... but nothing happened. Just when he was about to look up at Jack to find out what was keeping him, Daniel felt himself being lifted from the floor again and carried to the sink.

Jack turned on the water, rubbed a good amount of soap on Danny's hands and washed them vigorously in brisk, controlled movements, rinsed them and, without saying a word, put Daniel down, took some paper towels and dried his hands in the same vigorous manner.

Daniel didn't dare look up, and when Jack took him by the hand and walked him out of the room, he walked by his side in meek silence.

"A nurse came a few moments ago and brought you some breakfast." Jack broke the silence courteously.

Danny jumped at the suddenness of Jack's voice , looked wide-eyed up at Jack, then at the tray placed next to his bed. "I'm not hungry," he mumbled.

"Tough." Jack lifted him up and put him down on the bed, then placed the tray on the bed table before him. "Eat up," Jack instructed in a clipped tone.

Danny stared down at the food, wrinkled his brow and looked up at Jack expectantly. Jack pointed down at his plate with his index finger, the look on his face alone left no room for argument. Daniel sighed and picked up the spoon lying next to his plate, slowly lifting a spoonful of cereal to his mouth.

Jack seemed content with this and picked up the cup of coffee the nurse had left for him.

After a few quiet minutes Janet entered the room holding what most likely was Daniel's medical chart. "Good morning, Daniel."

"Morning," Daniel answered unenthusiastically.

"How's your breakfast?" Janet asked conversationally.

Daniel shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed on the tray.

Janet eyed the Colonel questioningly.

Jack shrugged. "He loves it, Janet. Thank you." He answered in a gruff tone, then glared at Danny meaningfully.

Danny glanced up at Jack from beneath his lowered lashes and squirmed under the hard glare.

Janet could obviously feel the tension in the air. She looked from Daniel, sitting quietly with his half-eaten breakfast, to Jack, who was staring daggers at the squirming boy. Janet cleared her throat, and they looked at her. Directing her attention to Daniel, she asked, "So, Daniel. How are you feeling today? Any headaches?"

"I'm fine."

"Daniel," Jack prompted.

"What? It's true! I'm fine!" he hollered.

"Hey! Watch the attitude, young man," Jack chided.

Daniel blushed beet-red and slumped as far down as he could, wanting to curl up in a hole somewhere and just disappear. "Well, okay," Daniel conceded, "I do have a little headache. But it's hardly there, honest. Can I go now?" he whined, very much like the four-year-old he looked to be.

Janet smiled warmly. "Not yet, Daniel. First I would like to examine you, and wait and see if your breakfast stays down. Then maybe at around noon I'll clear you to go home," she explained.

"Home? No, no way. I have a lot of work to do." Daniel's serious tone and child-like voice didn't exactly sound right together and the two adults couldn't help but look slightly amused. Daniel eyed them suspiciously, sensing their amusement and not the least bit happy at not being taken seriously.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. But what you need right now is rest. I don't want you working for at least a few days, all right?"

"No! It's not all right! Why does everybody else seem to think they know what's best for me better than I do?" Daniel's irritation was palpable now, "Can't I choose anything for myself anymore?"

"I happen to be a doctor, Daniel. And I know what's the best treatment for a concussion, and that's rest. As your doctor, I can't in good conscience clear you for duty after a head injury, however mild. It has nothing to do with you being a child. If you were still an adult, my orders would still be the same. You needed stitches, you were unconscious, and sick. So that's all there is to it, no work for at least a few days. Doctor's orders, understood?" Janet said in her stern no-nonsense tone.

Daniel pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't say anything.

Jack rolled his eyes and answered for him. "He understands, Janet. Don't worry." Jack grinned sweetly up at her, vowing to kill Daniel once he was better. Or maybe sooner.

TBC ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Friends and Foes Part 5

By Laura

A/N: See header from part 1. Thank you all for your great reviews! Thanks for trusting me your little plot bunny Rosenquist! I hope I didn't kill the poor thing :(I really tried to be gentle with it and write something more or less readable.)

Daniel sulked all through the morning and hardly touched his lunch. And soon after Janet was done examining him, he was once again begging her to let him stay and work. But she was adamant on the issue and refused to even discuss the subject any further. So Daniel had no other choice but to concede defeat.

Jack left to talk to the General after getting the all clear to go home from Janet. Home, but no work. _Sheesh…'_ thought Daniel, _I will never get any work done like this.'_

So here he was now, sitting in the back seat of Jack's SUV on their way to Jack's house, which had now become their home.

He hardly noticed the hated booster seat, dreading the moment Jack decided to break the silence. All this waiting was killing him. If Jack would just get it over with and start yelling at him, maybe he wouldn't feel so edgy.

As Jack parked the car in the garage, Daniel started getting even more restless. It was all he could do not to jump out of the car and run for the safety of his room. He was sure Jack would tear him a new one for this little incident. He certainly looked mad.

They walked into the house and Jack had yet to utter a word. The tension in the room was so thick, one could almost cut it with a knife. Daniel started creeping slowly to the staircase, eager to escape the uncomfortable silence that had befallen them. But Jack beat him to it.

"Go to your room, Daniel. And get ready for bed."

Daniel was all too happy to oblige. Any other day Daniel would've argued it was way too early for bed, but not today. Today, he ran quickly up the steps to his room, banging the door shut behind him.

Jack sighed and made his way stiffly to the kitchen, getting himself a cold beer from the fridge, spent by the day's events. He was beyond mad at Daniel. He felt like wringing his scrawny little neck right here and right now. But he knew better than to try to deal with the boy in his current mood. He flopped down on the couch and he sighed as he leaned back against the cushions, twisting his neck to get the kinks out.

He propped his feet up on the low table, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV to the sports channel. His mind wasn't on the game playing on the screen, though. To distract himself, he took a long swig from the bottle, rested his head on the back of the couch, his mouth slightly open, and stared at the ceiling. Trying to clear his head for just a few minutes. He licked his lips and tasted the beer still on his wet lips. Nodding his head, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. This is what he needed, just a few minutes of peace and quiet to clear his head.

"Come on, Jack. Wake up!" Jack moaned and turned on his side, away from the obnoxious nudging.

But Daniel wouldn't have any of it… Wait a minute! Daniel? That just wasn't right, he didn't sound… He bolted upright suddenly and stared at his friend.

"You're big?" Jack shouted.. He held his hands up to his face and gawked, horrified at the diminutive digits he saw. Then he dragged his gaze up to Daniel again, who seemed to be very amused by his reaction.

"What the HELL is going on here?" Jack screamed in astonishment.

"Hey, watch your language, young man! I have no qualms about picking you up and carrying you to the bathroom to wash your mouth out with soap," Daniel chastised firmly.

Jack just stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown another head. "You have **got** to be kidding me. It's a joke, right?"

"Not joking. I won't have a four-year-old swearing like a drunken sailor in this house, or anywhere else for that matter." Daniel snorted. "I'm sure in no time I'd be having half the ladies in the neighborhood knocking at my door demanding I drill some good manners into my kid."

"Your **kid**!" Jack shouted incredulously. Then he started snickering at the absurdity of the situation. "I'm **older** than you, for crying out loud!"

"Not anymore, Jack," Daniel pointed out, much too joyously in Jack's opinion.

Daniel got to his feet, his shadow looming over Jack's now much smaller frame, as sudden sly grin appeared on his face.

_Okay… this is totally creeping me out,_' Jack thought.

"We don't have time to argue, Jack. I'm going to be late for work and you are going to be late for daycare."

Jack stared up at him open-mouthed; his eyes wide open in complete and utter shock. "I beg your pardon?" Jack asked in a quiet voice.

Daniel turned to look at him, "I have to go to work, Jack. The SGC? Does it ring a bell?"

Jack held up a hand, bringing Daniel's explanation to a halt. He cocked his head to the side, eyeing Daniel skeptically. "Did you just say, daycare'?" Jack asked in a barely controlled voice.

Daniel barely spared a glance at him as he gathered a set of fresh, clean clothes from a dresser. "Well, Jack. You can hardly go through the Stargate waving a P90 anymore, don't you think?" Daniel jeered.

"Maybe, but what's with the daycare thing?" Jack demanded through gritted teeth. "I don't need to go to daycare. I may look like a kid, but I'm not a kid, you know." Jack stopped in his tracks and furrowed his brow in deep thought. "Now, where have I heard that before?"

"Look, Jack," Daniel began patiently, "we've gone over this already. I can't look after you while I'm working, so you need to go to daycare, end of story."

Jack snorted incredulously. "I don't need babysitting, thank you"

"Oh… yeah, right! Like when you almost broke your neck trying to wash your hands in the bathroom."

"Excuse me?" Jack was beyond confused now.

"Don't play innocent with me, Jack. You know EXACTLY what you were doing." Daniel was apparently growing tired of his dumb act, only it wasn't an act and he was royally pissed by Daniel's patronizing attitude. He was just shorter now, not stupid, for crying out loud!

"That wasn't entirely my fault, you know," Jack groused. "If you'd kindly provide me with a step-stool or something so that I don't have to be overdependent on you 24/7, I wouldn't have found myself in such a precarious position. I think it was as much your negligence as mine," Jack elaborated haughtily.

Daniel stared at him as if dumbfounded, then knelt down and gently placed the palm of his hand on Jack's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked tonelessly.

"No, you don't seem to be running a fever," was Daniel's non-committal reply.

Jack slapped his hand away crossly. "Of course I don't have a fever, why would I have a fever? I feel fine."

"Are you sure? 'Negligence', that doesn't seem like a word you'd normally use."

"Ha ha ha! Very funny." Jack snatched his ridiculously tiny clothes from Daniel's hands. "I'm gonna hit the showers."

"Shower? Uh... I think a bath would be a better idea right now, Jack," Daniel suggested, apparently trying to sound apologetic, but sounding rather condescending to Jack's maybe oversensitive ears.

"Ah... no. I'm gonna have a shower, thank you very much," Jack enunciated through half repressed anger.

Daniel threw his hands up in the air in defeat, apparently deciding to choose to pick his battles with the young and obviously frustrated Colonel.

"Okay. Have it your way. **This** time." Daniel gave him **the** look, and Jack just glared daggers up at him. He was feeling completely out of control, something that for the invulnerable, tough Special Ops Colonel, was totally unacceptable. Daniel's overbearing attitude wasn't helping, by the way. He was unknowingly driving him up a wall here, refusing to pick out the not so subtle signs Jack was sending him full blast by now.

Jack made faces at Daniel as he turned around to walk out the door.

"I saw that!" Daniel shouted from down the hall.

Jack just rolled his eyes and walked in the opposite direction to the bathroom.

"Oh... and Jack." Daniel called before he could even take two steps.

Jack cursed under his breath, knowing full well that if Daniel heard him he was a dead man... or, boy. His anger and frustration escalated tenfold at the thought."**What**!" he yelled, turning around.

"Just, use the shower mat, okay? I don't want you slipping and falling flat on your face. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay away from the infirmary for a couple of days. Not that I don't like Janet. On the contrary. But the sight of you bleeding to death is something I'd rather avoid."

Jack gave him the evil eye.

Daniel matched his stare and reinforced it with a warning, "I'll walk you to the bathroom and make sure you use it if I have to. You know I will. Promise me you won't conveniently forget about it. Unless you want some company, of course." Daniel grinned down at him in that evil, foxy way Jack was seriously starting to hate with a vengeance.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Daniel asked snidely.

Jack couldn't help himself even though his better judgment was telling him to stop. He was slowly being overpowered by that unrestrained and unmanageable side of him he had been bending over backwards to control. His kid side finally won the tug o' war playing in his head, and with no more self-restraint left inside of him; he blew the loudest Bronx cheer he was capable of at Daniel.

He saw Daniel's face slowly transform from scolding to mild shock and then settle into a deep-set scowl that sent a slight shiver down his spine.

Jack tried to keep the growing trepidation from showing on his face as Daniel strode purposefully towards him. Jack refused to feel sorry for what he'd done. Daniel **so** had it coming to him.

Before he realized what was happening, Daniel had him secured tightly under his right arm and was striding down the hall and back to his bedroom.

"Maybe what you need is a nap, young man!" Came Daniel's angry words as he continued his advance down what seemed to be an interminable hall.

Jack started crying and screaming in spite of himself.

He wasn't a little kid. He didn't want this. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. All his fears and frustrations came tumbling down. It was a great emotional roller-coaster ride. He couldn't hold them inside any longer, so he bawled like a four-year-old kid. Sobbing for the unfairness of the situation and for the life he'd lost. Daniel just kept on stomping his way down the never ending and now pitch dark corridor, until Jack's world started spinning madly. Then all of a sudden, he wasn't in Daniel's strong grasp anymore and he felt himself falling off a steep helix-shaped cliff.

Nothing made sense anymore, and in the confusing downfall, he thought he heard a little boy crying out for help, but it wasn't him anymore. This was a voice he knew very well, the voice of his best friend crying for help, for his help.

Jack bolted upright and pushed himself unsteadily up from the couch. He ran to the staircase, down the hall and into Daniel's room. He found Daniel sitting up on his bed, still fully dressed, fat tears streaming down the sides of his face. Both his arms were stretched out in front of him, as he cried out for Jack.

Jack ran to his side without hesitation and took the sobbing child into his arms. He gently rocked him back and forth while rubbing comforting circles on his back and pressing the wet little face to his chest.

"I'm s-sorry, I'm s-sorry, J-Jack," Danny sobbed quietly into the strong embrace of his friend.

Jack spoke nonsense in his ear and continued rocking him in the hope it'd stop the heart-wrenching sobs that were threatening to break his heart.

After a while he could hear Daniel quieted down, his breathing evening out as he went back to sleep. Jack never let go and Daniel slept on. He slept snugly, curled like a croissant in Jack's arms. Jack lay back against the headrest, pressing a kiss on the mop of unruly blond hair.

"I'm so sorry, Danny." Jack whispered into the still night air.

Note from Rosenquist: no Laura you didn't kill the plot bunny I gave you at all, you did a great job with it! Isn't that right readers?


	6. Chapter 6

Friends and Foes Part 6

By Laura

See header from part 1. You're all great, thank you all so much for your great reviews!

As Daniel slowly came back from the deep sleep he'd fallen into, he  
realized he was being held in a strong, warm embrace. He could smell  
the faint scent of aftershave and beer, and he felt safe and loved in  
a way he hadn't felt since his parents' deaths. He snuggled closer,  
relishing in the feeling.

But the moment was cut short as the memory of what led him to his  
current position suddenly came back to him. He felt his face heat  
with embarrassment. He'd been bawling like a baby and had only calmed  
down when Jack had taken him into his arms, and apparently, he'd  
fallen asleep in his arms, too. That only made him feel more embarrassed.

He took a tentative look up at Jack, and thankfully, he was still fast  
asleep. He carefully untangled himself from the Colonel's arms without  
waking him, draped the blankets around him and tiptoed out of the room.

Once he was outside, he looked down at himself and realized he really  
needed a change of clothes as he'd obviously slept in them. He sighed  
and peeked inside the partly closed door. Careful not to disturb the  
snoring Colonel, he crept inside and took a pair of sweats and a  
T-shirt from the wardrobe. He was about to leave the room when he  
remembered to get a pair of socks and underwear as well.

Struggling to hold onto the pile of clothes one-handed as he opened  
the door, Daniel made it successfully out into the hall. He decided he  
would take a quick shower and then make some breakfast. Correction. He  
would take a bath and then prepare some breakfast. Jack didn't much  
like the idea of him taking showers, much less after a concussion.  
Something to do with him sliding down and cracking his head open or  
something. And even though he didn't feel dizzy anymore and his  
headache was completely gone now, he decided he would play along and  
take a bath instead.

Whatever, it wasn't such a big deal, as far as he was concerned,  
anyway. And he could even have a bubble bath. That would be fun! He  
would never admit that to Jack, though. Not in a million years. No way!

He also didn't want to piss Jack off anymore than he already was. He  
probably would get it today as soon as he woke up. No need to add more  
fuel to the already flickering fire.

He set his clothes down on the closed toilet seat, got the water  
running at the right temperature and started to undress himself. He  
kicked off his shoes without even bothering to untie them, that way he  
wouldn't have to fumble with the damn laces later. He was in a real  
bad need of some new laceless shoes. That would certainly make his  
life much easier. But he didn't know how to bring up the subject  
without Jack thinking he was a baby or something. It was bad enough  
he'd been cradling him like one all night. Daniel scrunched up his  
face as he stepped into the bathtub and sank into the warm soapy water.

When Jack woke up, he noticed there was something amiss. He jerked  
awake and looked about the room wildly. The door was slightly ajar and  
a blanket was carefully tucked around him.

The warm sunlight seeping into the room from the window helped clear  
his fogged, sleep-clouded mind. Daniel! Where was Daniel? He swiftly  
threw the covers off and onto the floor, got quickly to his feet and  
flew out the door and into the hall.

"Daniel!" he called loudly. But there was no response. He was about to  
call his name again when he heard quiet tinkering from the kitchen.  
He cautiously went down the stairs and peered around the door.

He heaved a huge sigh of relief and stepped into the room. "Daniel,  
what are you doing up so early?"

Danny looked up and smiled up at him. "Morning, Jack. I just woke up  
and thought I'd make us some breakfast. And don't worry. I didn't even  
touch the stove, it's only cereal. Here."Daniel pushed the bowl  
toward Jack and climbed onto a chair, taking a huge spoonful before  
continuing. "Besides, it's not that early."

"Well, considering it's Saturday and we don't have to go to the  
mountain today, I thought you'd like to sleep in a little, maybe give  
your jolted brain cells some time to get back into gear," Jack took  
a seat across from Daniel.

Daniel just rolled his eyes at him, took another mouthful of cereal  
and said, in between chews, "I'm fine, Jack. Honest. My head doesn't  
even hurt anymore." A chunk of cereal flew out of his mouth and landed  
on Jack's nose.

Daniel didn't even notice and just kept on talking and chewing all at  
the same time. Jack reached a hand up to his face, and wiped the  
offending particle off before taking a mouthful of his own cereal, at  
a much more sedate pace.

He watched, fascinated, as Daniel blabbered away in between bites.  
Quite disgusting, by the way. Another thing that had changed with his  
downsizing. His eating habits. And if anything, they were getting worse.

"In fact, I think we could even drive up to the mountain and get some  
of my books so I can finish those translations I was working on  
yesterday. I really don't want to fall behind in my work just because  
of a stupid bump on the head," Daniel said, hardly taking a breath

"You know, Daniel," Jack interrupted the little chatterbox. "As much  
as I appreciate the thought, there's really no need for me to know  
what your breakfast looks like before it reaches your stomach."

Daniel finished swallowing his food and hung his head. "Oops, sorry,"  
he apologized in a quiet, remorseful tone, then grabbed the bowl in  
both hands and downed the rest of the milk in one big gulp, some of  
the liquid trailing down the sides of his mouth.

Jack frowned and shook his head, turning his attention to his own  
breakfast and away from the revolting display.

Daniel dumped his bowl onto the table and took a deep breath to fill  
his starving lungs. Then he run his tongue around his still dripping  
mouth, missing the white milk mustache adorning his upper lip. Jack  
hid a smile behind his napkin. This was definitely a Kodak moment.

"Uh… Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"You missed a spot there." Jack pointed to his own face. And before  
Jack could say anything else, Daniel was wiping his face with his  
forearm. "Better?" Daniel asked, holding up his head for inspection.

"Yah… you got it." Jack stood up and carried the bowls to the sink,  
rinsing them under the tap. "About those translations," Jack could  
feel Daniel's puppy dog eyes staring at his back expectantly, so he  
went on talking while putting the bowls away, knowing those big,  
pleading blue eyes could sometimes melt his resolve. "You heard what  
Janet said. No work for at least two days. That includes today and  
tomorrow." Then he turned around to see the dejected look on Danny's face.

"Hey, c'mon. Cheer up. There are more fun things we can do."

Danny pouted and shot back, "I don't want to do anything else. I have  
work to do."

"Look, Danny. It's doctor's orders. Even I can't go against them."  
Jack tried to cheer him up. "C'mon, we'll have fun. You could kick my  
butt at chess, or maybe a game of Gin. We could even watch one of  
those boring documentaries that you love so much."

Daniel sighed and hopped off the chair. "Okay, maybe a game of chess,  
I guess."

"That's the spirit!" Jack encouraged, "but…"

"But what?" Daniel looked up at Jack suspiciously.

"There's something we still need to discuss first," Jack pointed out  
meaningfully.

Daniel swallowed hard and fixed his gaze down at the floor."I suppose."

Jack draped his arm around the slim, little shoulders and guided him  
out to the living room. They sat down side by side on the couch.

"You realize what you did the other day was careless and dangerous,  
don't you?" Jack asked gently.

Danny started breathing heavily through the mouth, apparently  
struggling to hold back tears. "I-I know. I just, I'm just fed up of  
having to depend on everyone else to do stupid things like, like  
buttoning up my shirt, or tying my shoes. It's embarrassing," he  
finished quietly.

Jack sighed. "I know, Danny. And I understand it must be very  
frustrating for you, believe me, I do. But we can work this out  
together, trust me."

"How?" Danny looked up at Jack uncertainly.

"Well, for starters, we could go shopping, get you some more  
cooperative clothes. How's that?"

"I guess," Danny answered, considering the offer.

"We could even do a little remodeling to your office, make your  
bookshelves a little more accessible to your current height." Daniel  
looked up at that, decidedly interested and visibly elated at the  
prospect. Jack felt like whooping and hollering in joy at the one  
small victory, it made him feel like a million bucks seeing the hope  
in the little round face, and it lifted some of the burden weighing  
down on his shoulders. But he still had a point to make.

"Still, that doesn't excuse you willfully and outright disobeying me  
to get what you wanted." He saw Danny stiffen at his words, but he  
carried on. "How can I trust you off world if you won't even listen to  
me at the SGC?"

Jack could see tiny tears sliding down Danny's cheeks, even though  
he tried to hide them, and he asked softly, "What did I tell you  
before I dropped you off at your office the other day, Danny?"

Danny hung his head even lower. "That… that if I disobeyed you again.  
I wouldn't be going off world next week to P3X-736."

"That's right." Jack paused, looking at the dejected little figure.  
"But this was probably as much my fault as yours, I should have been  
more thoughtful about your current needs and should've insisted on the  
remodeling weeks ago. So, I'm gonna let you go with only a warning  
this time, and you'd better show me I can trust you over the next few  
days or you will be grounded, Daniel." He didn't like giving Daniel an  
ultimatum but he needed to get through to the boy. He didn't want the  
kid getting hurt or possibly even killed just because he was incapable  
of following orders.

Daniel didn't seem to mind the reprimand, though. His face lit up, his  
eyes dancing with joy, a beaming smile on his face, "So that means I'm  
still going on the mission on Wednesday?"

Jack waved a warning finger under his nose before replying, "If you  
show me I can trust you, yes, you will."

Daniel shot up onto the couch and threw his arms around Jack's neck,  
smashing his body against Jack's and rocking him slightly off balance  
in the process. "Ohh… Thank you, Jack!! I'll be good, I promise!"

Jack laughed and hugged him back, then got to his feet and hoisted the  
boy on his hip. "How about that game of chess now?"

Daniel eyed him critically, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.  
"Are you sure we can't go to my office? Pick up some of my books…"

"Daniel!" Jack warned, glaring meaningfully at him.

"A game of chess would be fine," Daniel amended quickly, an innocent  
smile on his face.

Jack glared at him and set him down on the floor. "Let's go, you  
little scoundrel." That got a little giggle from the kid; it was a  
beautiful sound, Jack decided. One he wanted to hear more often. "Then  
later today, we can go get those new clothes that will make both our  
lives that much happier."


	7. Chapter 7

Friends and Foes Part 7

By Laura

See header from part 1. Thank you all for your great reviews. You're the best!

Jack steered the already overflowing cart through the aisles of the  
mall, keeping a close eye on the bouncing kid beside him. Who'd've  
guessed Daniel would get so uber-excited about buying some clothes?

Although, taking into account the fact that his mind had nearly been  
imploding with the frustration of being able to tie his own shoes, for  
which Jack couldn't blame him one bit, his current exuberance was  
understandable. You don't need to be a Freudian expert to see the  
connection there. If the roles were reversed, Jack was sure he'd be  
far worse than Daniel. Probably virtually biting every clueless  
well-meaning soul's head off, who'd kindly offered to tie his shoes  
for him. So yeah, he could understand Daniel's excitement.

Still, it was a little unusual to see him so euphoric at the sight of  
velcro shoes. Decidedly odd, in fact. But Jack wasn't about to  
complain. Seeing the kid happy was number one on his priority list and  
if velcro shoes made him happy, then he was happy, as well.

After finishing their shopping, they placed all their newly purchased  
clothes in the truck, then Jack decided to take Daniel for a little  
treat. It was a rare occurrence to see the kid so happy these days.  
Well, truth be told, he couldn't remember Daniel smiling this much,  
ever! Jack had always complained Daniel was way too serious. But the  
kid was all smiles today, a sight Jack wanted to prolong for as long  
as he could.

Jack bent down, mindless of his creaking knees and, without thinking,  
swept Danny off his feet, over his head, placing him on his  
shoulders. Danny, to his surprise, squealed and giggled all the way in  
delight, the sheer sound warming Jack soul in a way he thought  
nothing ever could again. Not after Charlie's death.

Yet here he was now, enjoying the simple act of fooling around with  
his kid, yes, his kid, even if he wasn't that officially yet. Danny  
had wormed his way into Jack's heart fast and deep. And although  
nothing would ever completely fill the empty void or take away the  
pain Charlie's death had left behind, he found there was a new special  
place in his heart. Right next to that place Charlie held, full of a  
deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection, and that special place  
in his heart had a name, Danny's name.

It was different to the sense of kinship he had shared with Daniel,  
the man. This was a deeper, more protective kind of affection,  
stronger than friendship. And he recognized it right away, and to his  
surprise, he found himself embracing it, welcoming it rather than  
pushing it away like he'd always thought he would.

Together, with Danny firmly held on his shoulders, they made it back  
to the mall, without the added burden of all the shopping bags to deal  
with.

"Where are we going, Jack?"

They'd just happened to walk by a Baskin Robbins icecream stall, so  
Jack made that his next target. "What do you say we get ourselves a  
scoop of icecream before heading back home, squirt?"

"Mmm... yummy!"

Jack's smile broadened, "I take it that you agree, then."

"Absolutely!" Daniel bent forward, using Jack's head for support,  
apparently trying to go over all the different flavors as they neared  
the very long display cabinet running down the entire length of the stall.

"Look, Jack! They've got coffee ice cream with chocolate chunks!" The  
idea of a caffeinated four-year-old just about sent chills cursing  
down Jack's spine. Sure, it was only icecream, but it was coffee none  
the less.

He was about to argue the point, but Danny was literally bouncing on  
his shoulders, obviously excited at the very idea of tasting coffee  
again, even if only through an icecream cone, and he found himself  
ordering it despite his better judgment.

Daniel was beaming as they sat down to enjoy their little frozen  
treats. As he took the first bite, his face relaxed and his eyes  
closed in utter pleasure. Jack couldn't help but laugh at the look of  
pure contentment on his face. "That good, huh?"

"Oh... better. Way, way better." Daniel sighed, his eyes still closed,  
savoring the melting cream as if it had been sent from the heavens  
themselves.

"Really?" He had Jack's full attention now.

"Oh... yeah sure you betcha." Jack's smile broadened at that.

"That a fact, huh?" Daniel nodded absentmindedly. "In that case, I  
have to try it."

Snapping suddenly into action, Daniel held his precious possession out  
of Jack's reach. "No way! Go get your own!"

"Hey! That's not nice! I bought you the icecream."

"So? It's mine now." The ungrateful, spoiled little brat then promptly  
turned his back on him and resumed eating his cone, a process that  
looked much more ritualistic than just having an icecream required in  
Jack's opinion.

Jack cleared his throat and started singing softly in his ear. "What's  
mine is yours, what's yours is--"

"Mine." Daniel batted him away. "I know. I saw the movie."

"Then you must know, that the more you share, the more you get." Jack  
eyed Daniel invitingly, getting the mini archeologist's attention this  
time. Regarding Jack skeptically through the corner of his eye, he  
asked, "Does it mean you're going to buy me another one if I let you  
try this one?"

"Maybe. Possibly."

Daniel frowned, shaking his head vigorously as he turned back around.  
"No deal!"

"All right, you abusive little scoundrel! I'll buy you another one.  
Happy?"

A devilish smile crawled over Daniel's face, transforming the  
deceivingly angelic features. The little shit actually got a sweet  
smile from an unsuspecting, lady who was walking past. The poor woman  
probably thought he was cute. The bright blue, bespectacled wide eyes  
only served to accentuate the misleading innocence encompassing that  
plump round kiddie face. Surely a deceiving sight.

Jack snorted and shook his head as he got up and motioned for Daniel  
to follow him.

"What?" Daniel didn't even spare him a glance as he went on licking  
his icecream.

"You want another coffee icecream or not?"

"I'll wait here."

"Oh... no, no way."

Daniel turned an angry glare up at him. "Why not?"

"Why not?! Look at this place! It's a crazy maze, for crying out  
loud! There's a huge crowd coming and going. Why, anything could  
happen to you here!"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Oh... please, Jack. Nothing's going to happen  
to me."

"Now, that'd be the day."

Daniel frowned up at him. "Come on, Jack! Be realistic. You're only  
going to the counter over there. It's not like I'll have that much  
time to wander off or anything," Daniel snorted derisively.

"Oh... I wouldn't put anything past you, Danny."

"Jaaack!" Jack, don't be an ass!

"Daniel." You know I'm right.

Jack!" But it makes me feel like such a little kid!

"Dan-iel" I'm losing my patience here.

"Jack?" Please?

Ah... not the lost puppy-dog eyes. Eyes as wide as saucers beneath  
the long, blond bangs of baby-fine hair. An icecream-smudged pout on  
the chubby little face. All Jack could think about was Puss in Boots  
from Shrek ... curls his tail under, pouts, and them big eyes just  
well up with that totally innocent look on his face... too cute! And  
so cunning. But he still fell for it like a guileless school-girl.

"Oh... all right. But you better be here when I get back. You hear?"

"Sure, Jack." Daniel turned his full attention back to his icecream  
cone, practically dismissing the Colonel.

Jack shook his head in amazement and walked up to the display freezer  
just a short distance away.

Jack stormed out of the mall, stomping his way back to the truck, a  
screaming, kicking Daniel securely held in his arms.

"I turn my back on you one second, one second and you disappear! So  
much for staying put," Jack raged. .

"I want my icecream!"

Jack flinched as he was almost deafened by the high-pitched cry.

Jack set Daniel down in front of the truck and held him firmly by the  
shoulders. "Listen to me, Daniel, and listen good. This is the last  
time, the last time I ever leave you unsupervised again! I mean...  
what were you thinking?"

"I want my damn icecream! You promised!" Daniel yelled back in his face.

"Ah ah... you got your icecream. I was going to get you another one,  
I trusted you, you wandered off. We're going home. Period." Jack  
turned and opened the backseat door.

"I didn't wander off! I went to the restrooms."

"You weren't in the restrooms when I found you."

Daniel sighed and answered slowly, "That's because I got distracted  
and ended up in the bookstore. I saw some reference books I've been  
trying to find for ages and..."

"Aht aht!" Jack silenced the onslaught of non-ending words. "So? Then?  
Therefore? What's your point?"

Daniel glared fiercely at him. If looks could kill, Jack was fairly  
certain that right about now he'd be off rotting somewhere. Now that  
would be entertainment. "You're mean." Daniel finally gritted out in a  
low menacing tone.

"Maybe, but you don't wander off in a crowded mall. It's dangerous and  
you know it! There are people who would love to get their hands on  
you. You're acquainted with some of them already. Not very nice guys  
in my opinion, and I really don't want to stick around in the  
background while they play guinea pig with you . Because we both know  
they're dying to do just that and the only thing that's stopping them  
is the President, and the fact that we don't give them a chance to get  
their hands on you. Now get in the truck."

"No!" Daniel shrieked and flopped down onto the ground, kicking and  
swinging his little arms in full blown tantrum mode.

This caught Jack totally by surprise and he could do nothing else but  
stand stock-still, as if rooted to the spot, and stare at the enraged  
little archeologist in astonishment.

Now this was new. He'd never behaved like this in public before. Since  
his downsizing, he'd thrown the occasional temper tantrum, but always  
in the privacy of home, and never like this.

Jack suddenly snapped out of his shock as he realized they had become  
the main attraction in the parking lot. Some people were throwing  
accusatory glares at him, shaking their heads in disapproval as they  
walked silently by. Others, probably parents themselves, smiled  
sympathetically at him. All in all, it was decidedly uncomfortable.

Bending over, Jack lifted a very angry Daniel up from the cold ground  
and set him firmly in his booster seat in the back of the truck as he  
continued to kick and scream. The kid had even started shedding  
crocodile tears now. Jack was sure he'd be having problems hearing  
over the ringing in his ears after this little outburst of rage.

After a few minutes of struggling with the straps and having Daniel  
scream incessantly in his ear, Jack finally lost it. "That's enough,  
Daniel!" Jack thundered, startling the boy into blissful silence.

"Good. That's better. Thank you."

As Jack took his place behind the wheel and started the engine,  
driving them back home, he could feel Daniel's intense glare drilling  
holes into the back of his head like two little laser beams. Okay, so  
the kid was mad, and he could stay that way for as long as he wanted  
as far as Jack was concerned. He was pretty mad himself, so there.

What was Daniel thinking, anyway? Wandering off in a place as huge and  
crowded as a mall? Anything could've happened to him, for crying out  
loud! If this is how he behaved now, Jack didn't even want to think  
about going off world, and he said as much to the sulking boy in the  
rear seat.

"You know, if this is how you're gonna behave on P3X-736 then I think  
I'd rather reconsider my decision." Jack took a fleeting glance at his  
wayward archeologist through the rearview mirror, and was pleased to  
see that his words had had the desired effect. The kid's sulking face  
had transformed into one of shock, and maybe... maybe, a little guilt.

"What?"

"Well, you managed to wander off and get lost in a mall, so I don't  
even want to find out what could happen off world." Jack tried to keep  
his voice neutral and noncommital.

Daniel's eyes widened three times their natural size, if that was even  
possible, and his face lost all color.

"Maybe you're just not ready to go off world yet." Jack shrugged the  
matter off as if it was no big deal.

Daniel quickly jumped in with his defense.

"No, Jack! I am ready! I am!" Daniel nearly bounced off his booster  
seat as he shouted insistently.

"Oh... I don't know, Daniel."

"I am! It won't happen again, I promise! I will do as you tell me and  
I won't touch anything and won't wander off and—"

"Ah... Ah... Okay! I get it. I hope you're being honest with me this  
time." Daniel nodded his head furiously. "I don't want a repeat  
performance of today's little temper tantrum, Daniel. Because, whether  
you realize it or not, that's what it was. I won't have you kicking  
and screaming whenever you don't get your way." Daniel hung his head  
low in shame, as if finally seeing his childish behavior for what it  
was. "I thought you said you were an adult, Daniel. Well, let me tell  
you, that wasn't very mature of you, but if you insist on behaving  
like a spoiled four-year-old then I have no qualms about treating you  
as such. However, I have no desire to deal with a spoiled little boy  
off world, a little boy who will disregard my decisions the minute I  
turn my back on him, and probably kill himself in the process as well."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I don't know why I reacted the way I did," Daniel  
began in a low, guilt-ridden voice. "Are you going to ground me on  
Wednesday?"

The kid looked so remorseful, Jack didn't have the heart to do that.

Jack heaved a monumental sigh. "No, I'm not."

"You're not?" Daniel's head shot up immediately, hopeful eyes meeting  
Jack's gaze through the rearview mirror.

"No, I'm not going to wait until Wednesday for that. Consider yourself  
grounded today. When we get home you are to go straight to your room.  
No books, no TV, no computer. Is that understood?"

Daniel was beaming like the sunshine off the sea. "Yes, Jack. I  
understand."

Jack tried to keep, not very successfully, the laughter out of his  
voice. "You look too happy for someone who's just been grounded."

Daniel sobered up immediately. ")h... no no no, of course not." Daniel  
let out a little laugh. "Why would I be happy about getting grounded,  
Jack. That doesn't make any sense!"

"Oh... I don't know. I just got that impression."

"I'm in fact, very sad, very, very depressed. But I understand and  
I've learned my lesson, Jack. I'll never wander off, never ever  
again." Daniel solemnly crossed his heart as he punctuated his words  
with a deep, earnest nod in a gravely impressive show of honesty.

Jack snorted at the thought. Daniel, not wander off? Yeah... riiiight.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the weekend, to Jack's relief, went without any further incident Friends and Foes Part 8

By Laura and Rosenquist

See header from part 1. Thanks again for all your great reviews! Thank you neko-jin72 for giving us the first review for our story Cartoon LD meets the Real World SG-1, to let you know, part 2 is at our beta so stay tuned.

Now on with the story.

The rest of the weekend, to Jack's relief, went without any further incident. Daniel tried his damndest to be on his best behavior and, to Jack's amazement, heeded Jack's every word. That was by itself very impressive. He wondered if maybe the kid was up to something and was just trying to cover it up with good behavior. Of course, there was the off chance that Daniel had actually listened to him for a change and the little chat they'd had a few days ago in the car had finally gotten through to him. Well, as unlikely as that sounded, he really hoped that was the case this time.

Finally, it was Monday, and they set to remodeling Daniel's office to make it more suitable for his current shrunken needs. And it turned out to be a quite enjoyable task, kind of like your typical get together with some friends to do some remodeling at your own house.

And fortunately, they managed to accomplish the changes without turning everything upside down. They simply re- fashioned some old baskets from Jack's living room, whose contents needed purging anyway, and with a few sturdy baskets, they found a book-organizing solution Daniel could actually manage on his own.

The bookcase underwent some heavy remodeling as well, also measuring up to a height that at Daniel's current size he was able to manage on his own, without having to constantly ask for help to reach the higher shelves.

But with the reduced height of the bookcase there were some things they still hadn't been able to find shelving space for yet. So a few bookshelves, featuring a "Mystical" motif with royal purple and midnight blue and enchanting gold accents –Daniel's choice, by the way, yeah, go figure,— were added to the new array of kid friendly furniture. They revolved for easy access and were strong enough to hold many of his thick volumes. So the book problem was solved and Daniel was indeed a happy camper and therefore, so was Jack and the rest of his self-appointed family.

If only the cheerful atmosphere had lasted a little bit longer, then Jack would've been forever grateful to whatever divine powers there might be. But of course, just when things finally calm down and everything's going great, life decides to kick you in the butt. And, of course, today wouldn't be an exception.

Just one day before the scheduled, long awaited mission, Daniel got sick, a really bad case of the flu. And to Daniel's utter shock and complete dismay, General Hammond thought the mission was too important to be postponed for the amount of time that it would take Daniel to fully recover and instead appointed another team to take over the mission, as Jack refused to leave Daniel while he was so sick, although Daniel fervently tried to convince them otherwise. But Janet would have none of that. So the matter was closed. SG-1 wouldn't be taking this particular trip through the gate. At least, it was closed to everyone but Daniel.

"NO! I don't want to!"

"It's not a question of whether you want to or not, Daniel. This is about your health, and as your doctor I can't in my right mind let you go through the stargate in your current condition. You're sick, Daniel, and you need rest," Janet said in her no nonsense tone.

"No, I'm not! I'm fine!" Daniel protested vehemently.

Jack winced inwardly at the shrill, angry shout while Janet just crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the diminutive archeologist. "Oh… is that your educated opinion, _Doctor_ Jackson?"

Daniel jutted his jaw out and narrowed his eyes, shooting daggers at her before matching Janet's posture, with arms crossed angrily over his tiny chest, the picture of defiance.

"I'm. Fine." He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, I'm afraid to inform you, Daniel, that you're not. You're running a fever and you've got swollen lymph nodes. You **are** sick, Daniel," Janet explained, obviously struggling to keep her temper in check.

"It's my body. I think I'd know if I were as sick as you claim I am, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry, Danny, but that's usually not the case," Jack interjected.

The kid now turned his anger on him. "Shut up, Jack!" Daniel spat into Jack's face.

Jack leveled a disapproving glare that would've made anyone with an iota of sense cringe, but as it was, Daniel's anger was apparently clouding what little of that faculty he usually showed, on a good day.

Jack took a deep breath to calm his already very fragile nerves and took a few steps over to Daniel's bed, setting both arms at either side of the now squirming boy. Daniel averted his eyes quickly. Darting his now slightly apprehensive look to one side then back to Jack's now hard stare, he shifted restlessly on the mattress and found a sudden interest in his shoes. The boy was probably just now starting to suspect he'd pushed a little too far and was beginning to show a small, healthy dose of fear.

"Now you listen to me, Daniel. I've just about had enough of your attitude. I'd seriously advise you to make a swift adjustment before I decide to do it for you. Is that clear?"

Daniel gulped. "What do you mean by doing it for me?" Daniel asked, sounding worried.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough if you don't start to change your attitude from now on and I promise you that you won't be happy about it. Now lie still and do as your doctor tells you to do."

Daniel reluctantly lay back in the bed. His nose was running and he felt miserable.

~oOo~

Jack couldn't be angry for long when he looked down on the little runny-nosed boy who looked very miserable. Jack grabbed a Kleenex from the table and asked Daniel to blow.

Daniel's face went suddenly green. Jack recognized what that meant and hurried to get a bucket and supported Daniel when he started to vomit.

Tears ran down Daniel's face and he started to cry.

All the anger forgotten, Jack got Daniel onto his lap and let the boy cry his heart out on his shoulder while he rubbed his back soothingly.

After long time Daniel started to calm down and Jack could only hear sniffles.

"Mm…s'rry for ac'in l'ke a b'by," Daniel said, keeping his face buried against Jack's shoulder.

"What? I didn't quite understand you, Danny."

Daniel turned his head away from Jack's shoulder and said, "Sorry for acting like a baby."

"You're not acting like a baby, just like a four year old kid that has the flu. You should see how I react when I'm sick, it's not a pretty picture, believe me."

Daniel giggled. "I can imagine, Jack."

A few hours later, Janet allowed Daniel to go home with Jack, with explicit instructions to take it easy and rest for the next few weeks and to come see her immediately if he started feeling any worse or if his fever went higher.

"Aye, aye, ma'am." Jack saluted sharply, earning another bout of giggles from Daniel and a hard glare from Janet, although Jack could tell she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Danny's new kiddie laugh tended to have that effect on people. It was kind of contagious, like the flu.

"Don't worry; we'll call if there's any trouble." Jack grinned placatingly.

~oOo~

As soon as they got home, Jack took Daniel up the stairs to his room and put him to bed, heedless of Daniel's very loud complaints and objections.

"But Jaack! I'm not tired."

"You heard the good Doctor before we left, Danny. You need rest." Jack pulled the blankets over the small frame.

"Rest doesn't necessarily mean _bed_rest, Jack," Daniel argued, a big pout already forming on his round, flushed little face.

"Maybe. But still I think it'd do you good to take a little nap."

Daniel rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. "Oh… here we go again. Will you quit it with the nap thing already! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a little kid and I don't need to take naps so if you will excuse me…" He started pushing the covers off himself and made to get up, but Jack was faster than he was, quickly rearranging the bedding around him and forcing him to lie back down.

"This doesn't have anything to do with your age, Daniel. You're sick and you need rest, _bed_rest. If you were big I'd insist on exactly the same thing so you just relax and close your eyes," Jack said, taking a seat on a chair by Danny's bed.

Daniel followed Jack with his gaze, a deep frown now on his small face. "Are you planning on staying?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd keep you company."

"You just don't trust me to stay in bed," Daniel protested.

"Ya think?" Jack gave him a pointed look.

Daniel returned Jack's glare with one of his own but the glare match was cut short as Daniel was wracked by a bout of coughing. Jack helped him sit up quickly and started clapping him on the back until the coughing finally stopped, though the bout left Daniel panting and even more flushed than he was before.

Jack reached for the bottle of water and the glass he'd left on the bedside table, poured some into the glass and offered the still panting boy some. Daniel gladly accepted it and had started taking a few small sips when he suddenly sneezed violently, sending water flying in all directions.

"Oops. Sorry." Jack picked up a Kleenex and gave it to Daniel. "Bless you. That's okay; it's not your fault. Now lie down and go to sleep and you'll hopefully feel better when you wake up."

"I'm not sleepy," Daniel said while he tried and failed miserably to hide a yawn.

Jack wrapped a blanket around Daniel and said, "Yeah, right, I can see that."

In a matter of seconds Daniel was sound asleep and the only noise that came from him was a snore that was clear to hear, because of the boy's stuffed nose.

Jack smiled of the sight of the sleeping boy who only few seconds ago had claimed he wasn't tired. He stroked Daniel's hair. "Sleep well and don't let the bed bugs bite."

Then he went back to the chair and watched his sick child sleep.

~oOo~

A few days later Daniel was up and about and totally hyper. He was looking forward to going back to work.

Daniel hurried to Jack's bedroom to wake him up. He couldn't wait to get back to SGC, but his face fell when he noticed Jack was still in bed, and he was coughing badly .

"Jack, I hope I didn't give you the flu."

After he'd stopped coughing, Jack took a Kleenex and blew his nose.

"Amm fre'd so, kid'o," Jack said in a stuffed-up voice.

"Are you able to take care of yourself while you're sick, Jack? If you are I'll go to work and I'll call you from time to time and see if you're okay."

"No way you're going to work, young man! Get me the phone and I'll call Janet and ask her if she wants to take care of you for a few days while I'm sick."

"No I don't want to spend a few days at Janet's, not even a day. She will smother me to pieces. I'm going to work and I don't care what you think!" Daniel said and ran out of the bedroom.

Jack was too weak to get out of the bed in time to stop his wayward charge.

Daniel hurried to hide the phone then headed out the door to work. He'd planned to take the bus as far as he could and hitchhike the rest of the way.


	9. Chapter 9

"Wait till I get my hands on that kid, I'm gonna skin him alive that little— Ow…" Jack groaned as he finally managed to climb Friends and Foes Part 9

By Rosenquist and Laura

See header from part 1. Thank you all so much for keeping on giving us some great reviews! This part is what we have written so far. Don't worry there will be more. Laura has trouble with her computer so she can't write much for a while, but we will try the best we can to write part 10 as fast as possible. We hope to have a round robin on Friday where we'll write part 10, so let's hope we'll succeed.

Warnings: Some cursing and few swats from OC. Be warned there will be some Danny whumping before he returns back to Jack, but don't worry this is not a deathfic.

"Wait till I get my hands on that kid, I'm gonna skin him alive that little— Ow…" Jack groaned as he finally managed to climb out of bed and continued to mutter under his breath as he hurried as quickly as his aching, weakened body would allow.

By the time he made it downstairs the door was sitting wide open and swinging to and fro slightly with a bunch of keys dangling from the lock. Jack rushed outside, hoping to catch his wayward archeologist before he was too late.

But when he got outside, there was no sign of Daniel. Starting to panic, Jack ran past the front yard and onto the sidewalk, still there was no sign of him. In a deep state of fear and apprehension, Jack raced to one corner, turning his head from side to side, horror building up inside him like a raging fire, consuming him and drowning him with its intensity.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Jack rushed back inside, making a mad dash for the phone but it wasn't there, it was nowhere to be found, and he was now forgetting all about his flu. "God dammit!" The only thing on his mind at this moment was to get to his wayward charge before something bad happened to him.

"If I only can find the damn phone! Where did you hide it, Daniel? I swear when I get my hands on you you'll be sorry!"

oOo

Daniel hurried down the street, as far away from Jack's house as his little legs could carry him. There was no way he was staying at anybody else's house, he shook his head and snorted in indignation at the very thought. He wasn't a little kid, just looked like one. He was perfectly capable of going to work on his own.

Yeah, okay. These kiddie emotions got the better of him and he ended up acting like that kid sometimes but that wasn't the point. He was still capable of taking the bus and going to work on his own if he wanted to, and he certainly didn't need Janet to take care of him. He shuddered, just thinking about it made him angry. Janet could be worse than Jack sometimes, and that was saying a lot.

After a few minutes walking, he realized he didn't recognize the streets or houses he was passing by anymore and started feeling a sense of unease creeping up on him. He darted his eyes anxiously about. Where was he? He couldn't have gone that far that he'd get lost now, could he? He'd walked around this neighborhood a million times and he'd never got lost before.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't very well call Jack to come pick him up as if he was a baby. Of course, that was supposing Jack had managed to find the phone in the end. All of a sudden he wished he hadn't done that, he realized now how childish that had been on his part, but it had seemed like an effective way of stopping Jack from contacting the SGC and warning them not to let him in and escort him back home, or worse, take him to face the General himself, or Janet. He shuddered again. Jack would have a fit and probably tear him a new one for leaving like he did.

As he meandered through the unfamiliar surroundings, gazing intently into the unknown blocks and strange houses, he looked around frantically. Oh, God… he really was lost now. Oh… boy, what was he going to do now? Call Sam? But what would he tell her? Please, come pick me up, I'm lost in my own neighborhood. Now, that was stupid! They'd probably never let him out of their sights ever again. No, that was certainly not an option.

Wracking his brain for an option, trying to find his back his way to some familiar ground, Daniel wandered around the streets, breathing heavily as tension built up inside him.

Okay, he had to calm down. There was no point in getting all worked up over this. He just had to keep on walking until he recognized something, right? Yeah, that was all he had to do.

He rounded the corner and came face to face with a big, wide avenue he couldn't remember ever seeing before, buzzing with speeding cars. Everything seemed to grow larger and more frightening before his very eyes. People, like looming giants, stalking past. And he was alone, in the midst of all the noisy mass of rushing strangers.

Backing away against the nearest wall behind him, Daniel could feel his whole body quivering with some unreasonable fear he just couldn't seem to control. Tears started pooling into his eyes in spite of himself. He started breathing fast, and before he knew what was happening, he was sliding down the wall onto the floor, hugging himself and sobbing for Jack.

~oOo~

Not far from where Daniel sat was a woman who was crying too. She stopped crying herself when she heard the sound of a young child crying, got up from the ground and looked for where the sound came from.

It didn't take her long before she found a very young boy sitting all alone on the ground sobbing.

When she got closer to him and noticed his beautiful blue eyes and blond hair she smiled brightly and said, "Samuel! Sammy!" and scooped him up and gave him a tight hug.

"They told me that I'd lost you and that you were gone forever. I knew they'd lied to me, I just knew it!"

~oOo~

Daniel got startled when a woman suddenly picked him up and got scared when she called him Samuel.

"S-sorry m-ma'am. My name is Daniel, not Samuel or Sammy."

"Don't be silly, Sammy. I know my own son and you are my son. We better get home so you can have a nap."

"I'm not your son and I don't need a nap. It's still early in the morning. I have to go to work so please let me down!" Daniel said while trying to get out of the woman's arms, to no avail as she kept a tight hold on him.

"Stop this nonsense, Samuel! Behave now. I'm not in the mood for your games," The woman said firmly and started to walk while she still kept a tight hold on the boy.

Daniel started crying again. "I'm not playing games. Now let me go! You're not my mom! My mom and dad died long time ago. So please put me down," Daniel said between sobs.

"I said, enough, Samuel." The woman put Daniel on his feet, turned him around and gave him a swat on his backside. "Now behave yourself or you'll get more where that came from," she said firmly. Before she could get him back in her arms, Daniel ran away as fast as he could, while tears ran uncontrollably down his cheeks. Sadly he wasn't fast enough and the woman grabbed him and gave him 2 more hard swats on his backside.

"I said behave yourself. We're going home and that's final and as soon as we get home you're going to take a nap and I expect that you'll behave better when you wake up."

Daniel sobbed loudly but he was afraid to try and run off again, afraid that she would give him an even harder spanking or worse. Like things some of his foster fathers had done to him when they thought that he hadn't behaved well in their eyes and that had been no picnic.

Daniel prayed that Jack would find him soon.

~oOo~

Jack had long given up any hopes of finding the phone and decided to look for his cell phone instead but just as he'd suspected Daniel had seen to it that both instruments were well out of sight. He certainly was a sneaky little brat, this new incarnation of Daniel.

Jack shook his head, cringing as even the gentle movement brought searing bolts of pain shooting through his head. Wincing, he grabbed his head and started massaging his temples, hoping to knead the pain out of his brain somehow, but not having much luck unfortunately.

When the pain finally subsided to a more tolerable level, Jack strode out of the house, opting to call from a public call phone instead. Seething with anger, he burst into the glass encased box, vowing to inflict some severe damage to a certain mini fugitive archeologist as soon as he laid hands on him.

Jack dialed furiously and waited patiently… well, actually, not so patiently.

"Come on!" Jack tapped his palm on the glass with building anxiety.

"_Lieutenant Simmons, here." _

"Finally," breathed Jack.

"Hello, this is Colonel O'Neill here."

"Oh, hello, Colonel. I thought you wouldn't be coming in today."

"No, I'm not yet. But Daniel is and he is not supposed to, so as soon as he get's there I want you to take him straight to the General and make sure he does not move from that spot and I want you to notify me immediately I want to come pick him up myself. Understood?"

"Perfectly, sir."

"I better talk to the General, please put me through to him."

"Yes, sir."

Jack told the general about Daniel and they decided to get some airmen to look for him, since it could be too dangerous for him as a four year old to travel alone.

Hammond told Jack to stay home and let the airmen take care of Daniel, since he had the flu and that it would be good idea that he stayed home if Daniel should come back on his own, but Jack would have none of it. He couldn't stay home and relax when he knew that Daniel was out there in the dangerous world and he had a feeling that Daniel wouldn't come back on his own.

~oOo~

Daniel lay crying in Samuel's bed. The woman had forced him into Samuel's pajamas and then forced him to take a nap. Daniel was scared, scared that he would never see Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Janet, or Hammond again.

There had to be a way out of there. He lifted his tear-streaked face to look around the room. Smiling, he sprang to his feet and ran over to a small window at the other end of the room. His smile widened, there was a small desk right under the window. It would be very easy to just climb onto the desk and out the window.

He clambered onto the desk but to his horror, the window was locked shut. Desperate now, he searched frantically for something to pry it open but there was nothing that he could see. Instead he grabbed the lamp on the bedside table and threw it at the glass, crashing it into a million tiny pieces.

Right then, he heard a loud shout coming through from the other side of the door. "Sammy? What's all that noise?"

Daniel swung around at the sound of heavy footsteps getting closer.

He lunged forward to scramble up on the desk before the crazed lady made it into the room. He hurried onto the wooden table, sending pens, pencils, and notebooks scattering to the floor and was just about to dash out of the broken window when he was suddenly grabbed from behind.

"What are you doing Sammy?"

Daniel cringed, 'Man, I was so close.'


	10. Chapter 10

Friends and Foes Part 10

By Laura and Rosenquist

See header from part 1.

Warnings: Beginning signs of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, but don't worry this is not a deathfic.

Thank you Annie for betaing for us you're a pal.

Thank you all for your great reviews. Here's finally the next part. Happy reading.

Daniel tried to get out of the window before the crazy woman could catch him but he cut his hand on the broken window and cried out.

He looked down at his hand and there seemed to be so much blood he started to cry from the pain and the sight of the blood. He couldn't understand his reaction. In the few years he'd been working at the SGC he'd seen worse than this, but he couldn't stop crying.

Suddenly he felt himself being lifted in someone's arms and soothed like a baby. He didn't care; he needed comfort and he took it, but he wished that Jack was the one who was there for him, not this strange woman.

"Shhh, Sammy it's okay, don't cry. Mommy is going to make it all better. Shhhh."

Before he knew it, he was in the bathroom and had been put on a counter. The woman cleaned his wound and wrapped it. He noticed that she took a bottle out of a cabinet but he couldn't read what was written on the bottle, because he'd lost his glasses on the way from Jack's house to here.

"Here, Sammy, swallow those pills and you'll feel much better soon," the woman said as she handed Daniel the pills and a glass of water.

"What are those pills? I'm only four, remember."

"Don't worry, Sammy, it's only children's Tylenol. Come on, open wide."

Daniel thought that the woman probably wouldn't poison her own 'child' and since his hand hurt a lot, he swallowed the pills without any arguments.

"Good boy, Sammy. Do you need to pee before you go back to bed?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, Ma'am and I'm not tired so I don't need to go back to bed either."

Daniel noticed the disappointed look on the woman's face. "Don't start that again. Sammy, and don't call me Ma'am but Mommy like you always do," the woman said and scooped Daniel into her arms and walked back to Sammy's room and put Daniel back to bed.

Daniel wanted to protest, but he suddenly felt strange and very sleepy, though he couldn't understand why.

"Are you sure it was children's Tylenol you gave me? I'm feeling very strange and sleepy."

"Of course it was, Sammy. Maybe you're catching the flu, so you better stay in bed the rest of the day."

"No, that can't be I just had the flu and I don't want to be in bed the whole day. I want to go back to Jack."

"You haven't had the flu recently, Sammy. Now stop that nonsense and go to sleep," the woman said and tucked him in.

Daniel did everything he could to stay awake but his eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier. The woman stayed at the bedside till he fell asleep a few minutes later.

oOo

Jack drove frustratedly from place to place, but there was no trace of Daniel. He'd stopped from time to time to ask people if they'd seen him. Luckily he had a picture of Danny in his wallet though sadly no one recognized him.

He pulled his car over and climbed out to get some fresh air and call the SGC to see if General Hammond had heard anything new.

Hammond told him that all employees on buses and trains from Jack's home to the mountain had been asked about Daniel, but no one had seen a four year old on his own and that they were sure if he'd been there they would have noticed him and made sure he was under adult supervision.

Jack was devastated. He'd hoped that Daniel would have been found by now and he was worried, worried about what might have happened to him.

He walked around the area and ended up in an alley. He was about to leave but then he noticed something on the ground and went to it. He saw it was a pair of glasses and as soon as he picked them up he knew they were Daniel's.

Jack called out for Daniel, but there was no answer. Pulling out his cell phone again, he called the Mountain asked for a team of forensic scientists to come and check out the alley in the hope they might find some clue that would tell them what had happened to Daniel.

oOo

When Sammy's mother woke up Daniel for his lunch he was feeling disoriented and still very sleepy. Even standing up was a chore and his eyes felt heavy. He yearned to just close them and pretend he was back home with Jack and not in a strange house with an even stranger and probably even demented woman. His eyes stung slightly through every blink as he tried to think of words. 'I'm not hungry. I just wanna go home.' he thought, words failing him as tears started coursing down his cheeks slowly.

The woman knelt quickly before him, cupping his face in her hands. "Oh, what is it, honey? Do you hurt anywhere?" Danny shook his head mutely. "Was it a nightmare?" she prompted. Danny nodded, hoping to just stop the flow of questioning.

Fortunately, she merely caressed his cheek and brought him closer to her chest, making soft, soothing sounds as she gently rubbed his back so reminiscent of the way Jack himself would've done that Danny had to struggle to hold back the sob bubbling up his chest, that was threatening to choke him with its intensity. He screwed his eyes tightly shut against the telltale sting that promised a new onslaught of tears was soon to follow and pretended he was in Jack's arms instead, not those of this unknown woman who called him by another name and claimed to be his mother.

After a while the woman pulled back, still holding him gently by the shoulders. Daniel lowered his gaze so he wouldn't have to face the reality of his situation again, wanting to hide behind his make-believe world and the security and pretense of home.

But all good things must come to an end and so did his little dream as the voice of woman whose name he still ignored suddenly cut into his daydreaming. "All better now?"

Daniel nodded, still on the very verge of tears.

The woman gave one last pat to his cheek before getting to her feet and leading him out of the room by the hand.

She lifted Daniel to put him in Sammy's booster seat and then placed a sandwich in front of him.

"Here you go, sweetie, eat up."

Daniel felt sick just at the sight of the sandwich, though he couldn't understand why he felt that way. He regretted now taking the pills the woman had given him. Maybe they were causing him to feel sick, but why would a mother poison her own son? Maybe she knows deep down that I'm not her son and she's trying to punish me for it, Daniel thought.

"Come on, sweetie, eat your sandwich."

"I'm not hungry. I feel sick…I…" Daniel wasn't able to finish his response. Instead he threw up and started to cry again.

The woman hurried to his side and supported him till he'd stopped vomiting. "Don't cry, Sammy, shhh, it's okay. Mommy is here to help you."

Once he was quiet again, the woman said, "We better get you to the bathroom and get cleaned up and then get you back to bed."

Sammy's mother filled the bathtub and started to undress Daniel. Daniel still cried and he didn't have any energy to argue with her that he could undress himself and that he'd prefer to take a shower instead of a bath in the bathtub. He kept quiet and just wished that Jack was here to make it all better.

'Jack, please find me and soon before something really bad happens' Daniel prayed silently.

After the bath, he was dressed in clean pair of pajamas and put back to bed. It took only few seconds before Daniel dozed off from exhaustion.


	11. Chapter 11

**Friends and Foes**

By Rosenquist and Laura

See header from part 1.

Warnings: Beginning signs of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, but don't worry this is not a deathfic.

"So, have you found anything yet?"

"I'm afraid we haven't made much progress yet, Colonel. Apart from that pair of glasses you found there's no further sign of Dr. Jackson having been here. Not a trace."

"Well, he's obviously been here so you better take a closer look, Lieutenant," Jack snapped sharply.

"Yes, sir." The officer swiftly turned on his heels and resumed the search.

"Colonel O'Neill!"

"What is it, Teal'c?" Jack turned to his big Jaffa friend.

"I believe I may have some news regarding DanielJackson's disappearance." Teal'c stepped aside slightly and two young, very nervous looking teenagers came forward. "These two children say they have seen a child that matches DanielJackson's description."

Jack turned towards the two teenagers. "Okay, what can you tell us?"

The two young boys looked at each other uneasily, as if willing the other to start speaking. Finally, the older of the two sighed and said, "There was a woman with a little kid. He was about four years old."

"Blonde, long hair. Big, blue eyes. Wore glasses, a red t-shirt, and a pair of blue jeans?" Jack asked urgently.

"Yes, sir. It sounds like him alright, except he wasn't wearing glasses." The kid nodded his head eagerly.

"DanielJackson's glasses were found in the alley, maybe he had already lost them by then," Teal'c theorized.

Jack's face lit up with hope. Finally they were getting closer to finding him. "Was he alright?" he asked expectantly.

"He seemed alright, but he was crying pretty bad. She picked him up and left," the boy finished.

Jack and Teal'c looked at one another with growing anxiety. "Were you able to discern where they were headed?" Teal'c prompted.

Both young boys looked at each other questioningly.

"He means if you know where they went," Jack clarified, sharing an apologetic look with Teal'c. Both boys nodded their heads in understanding before pointing down the street. "They went that way," they said in unison.

"And the woman, do you have any idea who she was or where she lives?" Jack asked . The two teenagers just shook their heads in response. "Okay, thank you, kids." With that, Jack turned promptly on his heels and proceeded to round up his searching team.

"Well, people, it looks like we just may have a lead to where Daniel may have been, or been taken to would be more accurate." Jack finished in a low voice then turned to the two kids still standing awkwardly by his side. "Hey, kids. By any chance did you manage to get a good look at that woman?"

"If you mean if we know what she looked like then yeah, pretty much," the taller of the two confirmed.

"Great. Come with me then." Jack walked them over to one of the trucks parked at the side of the street. "Johnson, you can draw, right?"

The young lieutenant turned to him. "Well, a little, sir."

"Great, get some paper and a pencil."

"Yes, sir." Johnson hurried to comply.

Two sets of perplexed eyes turned in his direction. "You're in the army?"

Jack looked down at the kid and smiled. "Sort of. I'm a Colonel in the Air Force."

"Cool!" they both said in unison.

Right then Lieutenant Johnson came back with the drawing items. "Ready, sir."

"Okay, let's get to work."

After a while, the drawing was starting to take form.

"She had longer hair and her face was thinner." One of the boys gesticulated with his hands trying to convey what he meant.

"And bigger lips," the other boy added thoughtfully, turning to his friend for confirmation. The kids both guided the lieutenant until they had a sketch of her face.

"That's it, that's her!" they both agreed animatedly.

Jack reached over for the piece of paper and eyed the drawing closely, then turned back to the two kids. "You sure this is the woman?"

They both nodded firmly, "Yep, that's definitely her."

Jack nodded his head at them. "Thanks, kids."

"No problem, Colonel, I have a little brother, he's a pain in the butt, but still I don't want any bad things happen to him and if he should turn out missing I hope that strangers will help too. Hope you can find your kid." With that, the two boys left the truck.

"Let's take this to Carter, maybe she can track this woman down somehow."

oOo

When Daniel woke up he felt a little better, but just the thought of food made him sick. He looked around the room and was happy there wasn't any sign of the woman. He thought about ways to run away and get back to Jack.

Daniel wasn't allowed to be alone for long though as Sammy's mother came into the room.

She came across to Daniel's bedside with a glass of water and two pills in her right hand.

"It's time for your medicine, sweetie."

"No. please. They are making me sick. I think I'm allergic to whatever you were giving me."

"No, sweetie. You've got the flu not an allergic reaction. You need to take the medicine and you'll soon feel a lot better." Sammy's mother tried to put the pills in Daniel's mouth but he turned his head away from her.

"No! I don't won't any medicine and I just had the flu!"

"Samuel, not that again. Now behave and take your medicine. I'm your mother and I know best." She tried again to give him the pills but Daniel kept refusing.

"No you don't! And you're not my mother!" Daniel yelled in her face.

"Samuel!" She rebuked sharply. "Now, I don't know what's gotten into you but sick or not, I won't have you speak like that to me, young man."

Heedless of her reprimand, Daniel went on. "I'm telling you, those things are making me sick, why won't you listen to me?"

"Now, Samuel, that's enough! That's just plain nonsense, I'd never give you something that was going to make you sick." She mirrored his hard glare with a stern stare of her own, "I only want what's best for you, sweetie, and right now, that's taking this medicine." Daniel made to protest but was promptly silenced by the woman. "No, Samuel. No more stalling, I know you don't like to take medicine but if you want to get better, then you have to take it."

"For the last time, I'm not Samuel, ma'am," Daniel tried to explain with every ounce of patience he could muster, "you are mistaking me for him, ma'am. My name's Daniel, Daniel Jackson, and my mother's dead so you see, you can't be my mother cos then you'd have to be dead." He gave a little nervous laugh.

"Oh, Samuel, what nonsense." She gave a little amused laugh of her own before reaching out to gently pinch his cheek. "Of course I'm not dead, sweetheart. Wherever did you get those ideas?" She let out another little laugh. "Your mommy is right here, Sammie, and I know my son well enough to know he's right here as well." She gave his cheek one last light pinch and then tickled his belly playfully.

Daniel batted her hands away angrily. "I told you, I'm NOT Samuel!" Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs, desperate to make her understand. "You have to let me go! Jack, my da... he's my, he's taking care of me, he's my friend, and he'll be worried, please!" Daniel pleaded now, his big blue eyes wide with fear and despair.

"I don't know who this Jack is, Sammy, but if he were so worried about you, don't you think he'd be here with you?" Sammy's mother cocked her head to one side.

"He will, he's looking for me." Daniel said, in a low, controlled voice.

"No, he won't, Sammy. You're with me now," the woman said in a quiet tone that made the hairs on the back of Daniel's neck stand on end. If this woman was suffering from some sort of mental illness, as Daniel was increasingly starting to suspect, then no amount of pleading or reasoning would work with her, and he would never be able to fight his way out of here, as he'd proven earlier.

He saw no other way at the moment but to go along with her. "I'm sorry, mommy. I'll be good now." He saw her smile, a smile that although intended to be sweet, sent a chill down Daniel's spine.

When he saw him shudder, she rubbed his arm with concern. "Are you cold, sweetie?"

"No, I'm fine. Just tired." He let out a huge yawn to make his point, "I think I'm going to take a little nap, mommy."

"Okay, Sammy. But medicine first," she replied, to his dismay, and held out the pills on her open palm, obviously expecting him to comply.

Daniel silently cursed to himself, he was so hoping she would forget about the pills. Slowly and with resignation, he reached for the tiny pills and popped them into his mouth, swallowing them with a large gulp of water.

"That's my boy. Now, don't worry. You'll soon feel much better." And with that, she bent down to kiss his forehead and smooth his long bangs out of his forehead. "Now just rest, Sammy." Then she left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Daniel promptly spit both pills out of his mouth and hid them inside a nightstand drawer. Now he just needed to find a way out of here without freak mommy finding out.

oOo

Jack became more and more frustrated. He was pacing around Sam's office while waiting for news about Danny's whereabouts. Hours had gone by now since they found out that a woman had taken Daniel. Jack was afraid that the more time went by without finding Danny, the more the chances of getting him back would decrease .

It wasn't enough for Jack to pace around, he needed to have something in his hands to play with to help him ease the anxiety so he fiddled with one of Sam's tools.

"Sir, not to be out of line or anything but would you please find another place to ease your anxiety. I know you're worried about Daniel but so am I. I need some quiet with no interruptions to help find him," Sam said as she continued working at her computer trying to trace the woman that had Daniel.

"You're right, Carter. I can't help it. I need something to calm me down. Well, I should go talk to General Hammond to see if we can come up with other ideas to find that woman." With that, Jack left Carter's office.

In Hammond's office, Jack and the General discussed what other actions they could come up with for finding the woman but most of all, Daniel.

"I've contacted the police around the area and given them the description and the drawing of the woman and a photo of Daniel. I hope to hear from them soon so we can get our boy back home safe," General Hammond said.

Jack nodded. "That's good, but we need to do more. What about contacting Thor, he'd be able to trace Daniel in a split of a second while it can take days, maybe even weeks for us." Jack's expression changed to worry. "Maybe we won't even find him at all."

"We will, Colonel, and alive too. Yes, we can try contact Thor, but as you know the Asgard are very busy so don't get your hopes up too high."

"I know, but they adore Daniel, I'm sure they'll do anything to save him."

"I'm sure they would too. The problem is it can take days before we're even able to get in contact with them."

"Yes, that would be a problem, but let's hope that it won't take that long."

"Colonel, you better go get some rest in the infirmary."

"No, I can't rest, not until I get Daniel back. By the way I'm fine. I don't need to go to the infirmary."

"I didn't ask you, Colonel. Consider it an order. You still have the flu and you won't be any good for Daniel if you collapse on us."

Jack wasn't happy about the order, but he could see the General's reasoning. "Yes, sir."

Just as Jack was about to leave the General's office, Sam stormed in. "Sorry, General for barging in, but I found out who the woman is. We've got to hurry though. She's dangerous and if she can do stuff like she did to her own four-year-old son I'm afraid to imagine what she could do to Daniel," Carter said, with tears in her eyes.

Both Jack and General Hammond looked worriedly at Carter.

"What did she do to her kid? Please don't tell me she killed him?" Jack asked, while fearing her answer.

TBC


End file.
